Chinese in Russia have new options for daily travel. Chinese ride-hailing brand Didi has officially announced plans to enter the Russian market to provide express service in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. Russia has become the ninth overseas market for Didi's launch, and the first European country the brand has entered.

"Currently, Chinese in Russia can use the express service through DiDi International, the passenger side DiDi Rider. We also look forward to launching the Greater China version after the coVID-19 outbreak is over to support the roaming function of local services in Russia, so as to provide convenience for more Chinese tourists to Russia." In an interview with China Trade News, a person in charge of Didi's overseas business said that the greater China version of the platform already supports roaming services in Japan and Australia, as well as bilingual translation between Japanese and Chinese, English and Chinese in the app, to facilitate communication between Chinese users and local drivers.

DiDi Mobility Rus (" DiDi "), a wholly owned local subsidiary, operates the Express service in Russia to provide local services to the public, the official told reporters. "The Express service launched in Russia, according to the unique habits of Russian users, has developed a phone call function in addition to the App car-hailing service. In addition, security functions such as emergency help, trip sharing and virtual number have been put online while vehicle reservation is provided, and a 24-hour local human call center has been set up to provide support for drivers and passengers. In Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, Didi has also set up a 'driver's home' to strengthen offline driver services and management." The person in charge said that in the future, Didi will gradually introduce more products and services that meet the needs of the Russian market and explore cooperation with the local transportation industry and other business partners through the refined operation of the local team in Russia to accumulate experience and collect user feedback.

Russia is the most populous country in Europe, and the travel industry has great potential for development. According to sberbank, Russia's travel industry -- including taxis, ride-hailing and ride-sharing -- will be worth 2 trillion rubles by 2025. At present, the Russian government is vigorously supporting the development of innovative economy and digital industry. 2020 will be the Year of Science and technology innovation between China and Russia. In recent years, Tatarstan has taken innovation economy as its development priority. Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, is not only an important economic center and transportation and tourism hub, but also has the largest Internet technology innovation industrial zone in Russia. These conditions together create a good environment for the development of technology enterprises here.

Since its launch on August 25, Didi Chuxing has been widely welcomed by local drivers and passengers in Kazan. A post on the official website of the government of The Republic of Tatarstan welcomed the launch of Didi's service in the region. Tatarstan's President Rustam Minnihanov said That Tatarstan was ready to create favorable conditions for Didi, an influential Chinese company, to invest in the company.

It is understood that didi has accelerated its international development since 2018. At present, the company has carried out travel, takeout and intra-city delivery business in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Australia and Japan, with a total of more than 1 billion orders a year.