1) Google and China don't play well together due to differing views on internet censorship ect. I dont think you can purchase apps in China from Google. If you were in another country, you could purchase the app.

It seems backwards, I know, but that's the way things are.

2)with a rooted phone, you could most likely spoof the location for another country

 

Hi and ni hao Evilberto.

Are you in China now and using a Chinese carrier, like China Mobile or Unicom? It's free apps only in China, no paid at all, no music or movies either.

You might be able to get around the block by spoofing your IP address with a proxy or VPN. But it might not work if Google is still seeing the phone as say "China Mobile Google Nexus 4" because of the SIM.

How did you manage to buy a Google Nexus phone in China? AFAIK it's not officially distributed and sold here, although there may be grey imports.

 

@Evilberto
I just brought a UK spec Nexus 4 back to China with me but can't get it to work on either China Mobile or China Unicom. Even though it's unlocked seems it's not a recognised handset here and hence the SIM won't connect - would be great to find out how you got round that!

As for downloading Apps from google play, I've been using my Nexus S via a VPN and effectively access the UK Google Store from China - free and paid - all available.

 

@Evilberto - an update - managed to get my phone to work - actually it just started working so was probably taking a long time to register. I can access everything from the UK Google Play store through my VPN and the usual Chinese Apps when the VPN is switched off.

One other option for you to try is to root the phone and install a non-Chinese ROM. I did this with my Chinese-bought Galaxy Note 10.1 and now it operates as if it were a UK device (will work whichever ROM you choose).

Only snag is that you may not get the OTAs so download a 4.2.2 ROM.

Good Luck...