Police raid Uber office in China

Chinese Police raided the offices of Uber Technologies in the southern city of Guangzhou in the worst legal setback for the San Francisco-based car-hailing app since it was launched in China in 2013.

Photos of the raid, which apparently happened on Thursday night, were posted on the website of Guangzhou Daily, a local newspaper, which showed police seemingly confiscating phones and other equipment from Uber's office in the city.

The newspaper said Uber was accused of running an "illegal" transport service, although no public explanation was given by local law enforcement officials.

It is unclear what formal charges Uber may face and the Guangzhou police department declined to comment.

A statement from the city's traffic department, reported by Xinhua, the official news service, appeared to allude to the raid: "In order to ensure a clean and orderly market in the city, law enforcement authorities in Guangzhou have launched a crackdown on unlicensed and illegal transport operations."

It said authorities had "carried out a joint operation inspecting a company suspected of lacking proper commercial registration papers and of organizing public taxis lacking business qualifications in business operations."

"We have temporarily seized the mobile phones that serve as business tools. Investigations are under way," it said.

Uber is no stranger to legal problems, having done battle with regulators in cities from Paris to Delhi. So far it has been helped in China by a legal loophole which allows private taxi services using rental cars for its high-end Uber Black and Uber XL services.

However there have been cases of local authorities cracking down in response to pressure from local taxi companies, irked at having to compete with Uber and other ride-sharing and car-hailing apps. In December, police in Chongqing raided a training session for Uber drivers.

Beijing is seeking to regulate and legalise the ride-hailing app market, which many officials see as a way to simultaneously tackle traffic congestion and pollution.

An Uber representative declined to confirm or deny the details of the raid. In a statement sent to the Financial Times in response to questions about the raid, the company said: "Uber prides itself on providing efficient and convenient transportation options . . . We have maintained open channels of communications and are working closely with local authorities in co-operation."

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A relative late-comer to the Chinese market, it faces competition from local players Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, which hail licensed taxis and have sewn up the lower end of the market. The duo have unveiled plans to merge.

However, Uber said it was more competitive in the high-end of the market via its UberBlack service, which features Audis and other luxury cars.

The most recent statement from China's ministry of transport in April said that private car services "can meet market demands for high quality and diverse methods of transport".

However, it added: "Issues remain in private car services, such as illegal operations, obscure responsibilities for platforms, and little guarantee of the passenger's consumer rights and personal safety."

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