Google Woos Partners for Potential China Expansion

While its search engine and Gmail remain blocked, the tech giant provides tools to app developers, manufacturers and advertisers in the region

Douglas MacMillan in San Francisco,

Shan Li in Beijing and

Liza Lin in Shanghai

Updated Aug. 12, 2018 12:16 p.m. ET

Google’s search engine is blocked in China. But inside the Beijing offices of smartwatch maker Mobvoi Inc., the internet giant looms large.

Mobvoi relies on Google’s software to power its line of watches and smart speakers. Its engineers build apps using TensorFlow, Google’s free set of development tools for artificial intelligence. Mobvoi’s sales team targets users outside of mainland China by buying Google ads.

“It’s...