Uber Technologies Inc. announced on Monday, Jan. 11, that its China branch will receive some investment from Chinese company HNA Group, as part of a partnership of the United States ride-hailing corporation with the aviation and shipping multinational.
The collaboration, which marks Uber's move to venture into China's large tourism industry, includes a collection of transportation services to and from airports and for HNA flights, and online financing for the automotive sector, according to China Technology News.
Speaking in Beijing, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said that he visualizes a system where clients can impeccably shift from traveling within a city to between and beyond cities, established on a universal series of collaboration.
The partnership between Uber and HNA Group comes at a time when Uber and competitor Didi Kuaidi fight to establish ties with influential Chinese firms with long-established relationships to government as they try to avoid upsetting policymakers in China's growing ride-hailing sector.
According to Reuters, ride hailing in China, just like in other states, can either be technically illegitimate or function in a gray region based on the location and type of service rendered.
The rivalry between Uber and Didi Kuaidi has proven particularly expensive. Both corporations have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in order to entice and retain users. Now, the battle is likely to extend further as Uber entices tourists and inter-city travelers.
During a press conference on Monday, Kalanick and Tan Xiangdong, HNA president, said they see the partnership as symbiotic, filling each company's gaps in travel. Up to now, Uber has put an investment worth 6.3 billion yuan ($958.61 million) in China, with the country being Uber's biggest market worldwide and a major strategic hub.
Recently, the U.S. ride-hailing firm's China branch closed a financing round, before which it was valued at $7 billion. While Kalanick did not provide more details, he said that investors from China were more than he could name.
With regard to Uber's high cash-burn rate in China, Kalanick pointed out that the company is investing profits from cities around the globe into China.