US tech giant Google has opened an office in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, the company told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"In a bid to better communicate with local partners, we have opened an office in Shenzhen," the company said.

Google's quiet opening of a third office in China highlights its growing hardware and ad businesses in the country, the Financial Times reported earlier the same day.

Google told the Global Times on Tuesday that "there have been no changes to Google Maps in China," as a response to media reports that said Google will restart its map service in China.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn