couple of notes, uber is backed obviously by google, but also by baidu which has deep governmental ties in china (sorry no reference, but the fact that it's the number 1 search engine in china all these years should tell you enough). uber, in fact, uses baidu maps in china for gps.<p>didi is backed by tencent which is the whatsapp clone maker (wechat) and i think alibaba.<p>essentially it's very easy for the chinese government to block out foreign web apps/services, just create a rule on the great firewall followed by regulation to enforce large fines. but they havent done it yet, why? because imho uber and didi help to solve one of the government's biggest urban problems, efficient transportation. yes, sometimes they have small scale crackdowns at airports and train stations to catch uber drivers, but that's just for show to calm down the taxi companies which are government backed and didi, taxi companies have been known to go on strike causing the government to have to resolve things.<p>it used to also be that uber was only paying taxes in usa, but now they're also lawfully paying taxes which should be another revenue stream for the government which is needed in this current economy.