Uber China and local arch rival Didi Chuxing have announced that they will be merging their operations.

Globally, the Uber ridesharing app has taken on the world by storm. There are exceptions to prove the rule and where Uber has decimated many other countries existing operations, Didi Chuxing seems to have not caved in as many of Uber’s other rivals have.

In a blog published on the official Uber Newsroom website today (1 August), Uber’s CEO and Co-Founder Travis Kalanick said that Uber China – in just two years – has “exceeded even [his] wildest dreams”, growing “super fast” and “now doing more than 150 million trips a month”.

The same blog however suggested that Kalanick seems to believe it makes more sense to cooperate with Didi Chuxing.

“As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that being successful is about listening to your head as well as following your heart,” said Kalanick. “Uber and Didi Chuxing are investing billions of dollars in China and both companies have yet to turn a profit there. Getting to profitability is the only way to build a sustainable business that can best serve Chinese riders, drivers and cities over the long term.

“I have no doubt that Uber China and Didi Chuxing will be stronger together. That’s why I’m so excited about our future, both in China — a country which has been incredibly open to innovation in our industry—and the rest of the world, where ridesharing is increasingly becoming a credible alternative to car ownership.”

Sources reported that the agreement between the two companies will mean that Didi Chuxing will buy Uber’s China unit in a $35bn deal, but Uber’s service will run independently in China separate from Didi’s own ride-hailing app.