Google has bought a stake in China's Xunlei Network Technology, which provides file-sharing and other services, a Google spokesman, quoted by a Reuters report said.
The Reuters report said terms of the deal were not disclosed by Google, although the China Daily earlier reported that Xunlei planned to announce the details soon.
Google is reportedly partnering with Ceyuan Ventures, a Shanghai-based venture capital firm for the investment, the newspaper said.
The Reuters report further said more than 80 million users have installed Shenzhen-based Xunlei's software and its Web sites attract more than 50 million visitors a day, the China Daily said.
Baidu.com controlled nearly 57% of China's search-engine market at the end of June, according to Analysis International, a Beijing-based IT research company, the Reuters report said.
The report said sources have said both Baidu and Google, which has only 16% of the China market, are exploring options to expand their online video services in the world's fourth-largest economy.
The moves come after Google closed its $1.65 billion acquisition of top online video-sharing site YouTube. Baidu also launched its own Chinese-language video Web channel on a trial basis a few months ago, the report said.