Despite its supremacy in many other parts of the world, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has had a difficult time taking the lead in China’s Internet portal market, which is dominated by a group of domestic players, the biggest of which is Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU). But apparently in mobile, Google may still have a chance to be top dog. A report out today from the Xinhua news service says that Google is ahead of Baidu in mobile searches. It says that Google’s strategy in aligning with both operators and handset makers—for example a deal with China Mobile as well as one with Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC)—has given it a leg-up on Baidu, which has concentrated on handset makers only, last year inking a deal with Nokia (NYSE: NOK). On top of this, the fragmentation in the Chinese mobile market means that there are no obvious competitors to buy that would help Baidu grow by acquisition. No numbers given to back up these claims, but figures from February 2007, from iResearch, say that there will be 71 million users of mobile search this year in China, with the number rising 127 million in 2008.