Why is China a hard nut for Uber to crack?

Taxi-hailing app Uber just can’t catch a break in China.

打车应用软件Uber一直未能在中国市场取得成功。

Uber’s office in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou was raided last week by local authorities, who have accused the company of operating without a license and allowing private-car owners to offer taxi services, according to state media.

据中国官媒消息，Uber在中国广州的办公室上周遭有关部门突查。理由是公司未办理工商登记手续、组织不具备运营资质的私人车辆从事出租车活动。

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company has previously said it doesn’t work directly with private-car owners in China.

Uber并未对此作出回应，不过该公司之前曾表示在中国，他们并不和私车车主合作。

Running afoul of regulators is nothing new for Uber, which has faced legal challenges in countries around the world on its way to a $40 billion valuation. In India, for example, the company has been chastised for operating without the proper licenses.

不过这对Uber来说并不是什么新鲜事，虽然现在公司有400亿美元的市值，但其世界各地分公司的法律问题一直层出不穷。

But Uber has a much bigger problem in China: It was late to an already saturated market.

但Uber在中国还有个更大的问题，那就是：出租车市场已饱和。

Two homegrown companies have long waged a battle for taxi-app supremacy in China. One, called Kuaidi Dache ("Speedy Taxi") had the backing of e-commerce firm Alibaba. The second, Didi Dache ("Honk Honk Taxi"), received funding from Tencent, the country’s other Internet giant.

两家中国本土公司早已为市场挣得不可开交了。一个是快的打车（快速出租车之意），其背后是电商公司阿里巴巴. 第二家公司是嘀嘀打车（滴滴是汽车按喇叭的声音），由中国第二家网络巨头腾讯公司注资。

The tech tie-ups were hugely important for both apps. In addition to investment dollars, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache got easy access to hundreds of millions of potential customers who were already using the digital social platforms operated by Tencent and Alibaba.

与科技公司合作对两大应用来说至关重要。因为除了得到投资以外，腾讯和阿里巴巴数亿客户对嘀嘀打车和快滴打车来说都是潜在客户。

Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache would go on to engage in a fierce competition for customers, before finally calling it quits and announcing a merger in February. According to one estimate, the firms control 99% of the Chinese market.

两家公司之前竞争一直颇为激烈，直到今年2月份两家公司进行了合并。据估计，这两个公司控制了中国99%的市场。

Uber, which made its China debut in February 2014, has sought to close the gap. The company currently operates in about 10 Chinese cities, and has advertised a big hiring push to build its staffing levels. In December, it struck a deal with Baidu, giving it access to the leading Chinese search engine’s mapping and mobile technology.

Uber自2014年2月进驻中国市场以来一直试图弥补差距。目前公司业务涉及中国10个城市，为招揽人才大力宣传招聘启事。12月时，Uber与中国搜索引擎公司百度达成协议，获得该公司的绘图和移动技术。

But progress has been slow. In recent months, rumors have swirled over a possible merger between Uber and Yidao Yongche, an upscale Chinese competitor that could help Uber make real inroads in China.

但Uber公司的业绩并无明显提升。最近几个月有传言称Uber可能和中国高档出租公司易到用车合并，这样以来Uber或许可真正打入中国市场。