China’s government has formally legalised online car hailing services including San Francisco-based Uber and Beijing-based Didi Chuxing, giving a boost to an industry that has until now operated in a grey area, the Financial Times reports. Both Uber and Didi Chuxing welcomed the provisional rules unveiled by the Ministry of Transport on Thursday, which Didi referred to as “the world’s first nationwide online ride-booking regulations.” Online car hailing has been met with protests and bans in many other countries but China’s government has sought to co-opt the new technology as a way to promote further economic growth. The new rules also set a precedent for other industries in China — such as finance and healthcare — where regulators are considering how much “disruption” to tolerate from fast-moving internet companies.|