Netflix said on Tuesday it had made no progress toward its goal of expanding into China as it needs to obtain a government license, Reed Hastings, the entertainment firm's chief executive officer, said.

"Same [problem] it has always been - government permissions, we got to get a specific license in China, Hastings said, but insisted Netflix will continue to work on it but cannot give a definite timeframe.

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The streaming brand wants to expand its subscriber base abroad in a bid to combat the slowing economic growth in the United States, Fortune reported. However, despite the big leap, Netflix failed to conquer the home of about a quarter of the broadband household user in the world, China.

In an interview early this year, Hasting said Netflix is still "building relationships and trying to be very patient... but you never know... whether it is 2016, 2017, we'll just keep working on it."

According to The Hill, the producer of popular TV series such as "Stranger Things" and "House of Cards," has gone global, turning on its services in over 130 countries on the same day early this year.

At present, Netflix is available in more than 190 countries across the world, including its recent opening in Turkey and Poland.

Foreign tech firms are struggling to set its foothold in China as they face the country's stringent policies and censorship regulations.

For instance, Uber announced that it will sell its Chinese assets to China's Didi Chuxing this year. Apple's iBooks stores and iTunes movies services were also shut down early this year. And Google, in 2010, transferred its search operations from the mainland to Hong Kong, although it is expected to re-enter the Chinese market.

Tagsnetflix, streaming, china, censorship