But those involved say they don’t expect the sale to disrupt the status quo. The protest images will be available around the world even if they remain censored within China.

Visual China, which made the purchase through its affiliate Unity Glory International, has also struck a deal with Getty Images, Corbis’s main rival, to distribute the photographs in all countries except China, creating a combined library of more than 200 million images.

Getty has worked with Visual China for more than a decade to market its own library in China. Craig Peters, Getty’s senior vice president for business development, said he was confident that the company would safeguard the availability of politically sensitive images.

“V.C.G. has no limitations over what we produce or what we represent or what we bring to bear in our markets,” Mr. Peters said. “And that level of editorial discretion and integrity is something that we’ve maintained and is 100 percent absolutely intact.”

Image The sale gives Visual China Group ownership of iconic photographs. This image from the crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989 is included in the archive, though Corbis said the rights to the photograph belong to Reuters. Credit... Arthur Tsang Hin Wah/Reuters

He also pointed out that many images in the archive, including from the Tiananmen crackdown, do not belong to Corbis. In those cases, the company serves simply as a licensing agent for other parties that hold the rights, such as The Associated Press and Reuters.