Google is rolling out two new Nexus phones: the Nexus 6P in cooperation with Huawei and the Nexus 5X with LG Electronics. While the market position of the Nexus phones has ebbed, Google's tie-up with Huawei, for the first time, to produce Nexus phones still has strong implications.

The hardware specifications of the Nexus 6P are higher than those of the Nexus X5, including a larger 5.7-inch 2K display, a Qualcomm processor and up to 128 GB memory capacity. This indicates that Google is treating Huawei as a production partner for premium models rather than for entry-level products.

The tie-up with Huawei also illustrates the rise of China-based vendors in the global smartphone arena as it has been Google's policy of choosing a partner which has strong production capability and market potential, and yet also has high willingness to cooperate with Google.

On the other hand, Huawei has also expressed its sincerity to cooperate with Google by chossing mobile processors from Qualcomm instead of using in-house developed chipset solutions from its subsidiary HiSilicon Technologies.

Nevertheless, Google's pickup of a China-based partner also clearly indicates its intention to improve its relationship with the China government. The cooperation with Huawei may be instrumental to Google's negotiation with the China government for introduction of its new products in China, including the Google Play and Nexus devices.

Taiwan-based hardware device partners for Google, including HTC and Asustek Computer, could be marginalized by the rise of their counterparts in China, as Google has also teamed up with China-based Transsion Holdings to launch Android One smartphones in Africa, and has also cooperated with China-based TP-Link to roll out OnHub wireless routers.