By Eric Lieberman
Ride-hailing services in China are now legal after several of the country’s regulators approved a new legal framework to guide how such companies can operate in the country.
Uber and similar ride-sharing companies are banned in several places in America, including the whole state of Nevada.
Just like in America, ride-sharing startups like Uber and Lyft have revolutionized the transportation realm in China. Uber and Didi Chuxing, China’s Uber knock off, have become so popular in the world’s largest market that the two companies are in a fundraising race in order to obtain territorial domination. Unlike America though, China now has a comprehensive law that applies to all, according to The New York Times.
The US not having an all encompassing federal law permitting such businesses has caused many legal discrepancies in various ordinances around the country, from parts of Florida to the increasingly popular city of Austin, Texas.
China’s latest decision allows an American internet company to potentially permeate Chinese society and culture; something the government rarely authorizes.
China is not a typical example of a freedom loving, pro-competition country. But this move may put the pressure on the US government to create a similar policy to help settle legal debacles that create uncertainty across the country.