Android find my phone
 

Does it work in China? Or does China's hatred of all things Google block it? (And, if so, would a VPN make it work?)

There are numerous "find my phone" apps, so I'm guessing that at least some of them work in China.

I don't have personal experience in this area because I don't download useless apps, as a matter of policy (I.e. why degrade phone performance for the sake of a pipedream).

I have lost 6 phones during the course of the past ~20 years, and recovered 1.

My SOP is to call it, and hope that the taxi driver is kind person. If he is, I can meet him, and get it back. If he isn't, I buy a new phone.

On the surface, you might assume an app that has the ability to pinpoint his house will aid your cause, but the phone will not be at his house by the time you get your act in gear, and it will no longer be traceable.

I'm talking about the stock capability, not any app. For an easy demonstration of it, if you have an Android phone go to www.google.com while signed in to Google and search for "find my phone". The capability works, my question is whether it is blocked over there as part of their hatred of things Google. (The "find my phone" route is definitely blocked but there are other ways of accessing it.)

And the issue isn't theft, but reuniting party members. I would not expect to recover a lost phone in China.