New | China cracks down on domestic taxi apps next after Uber raids

Chinese authorities have widened a crackdown on car-hailing services with raids on a local office of two homegrown firms, just days after similar actions against two offices of US firm Uber.

Local authorities in Luoyang, Henan province, shut down the offices of Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache on Monday, mainland business magazine Caijing reported.

The move came was sparked by an altercation between taxi drivers that threatened to get out of hand, the report said, citing a WeChat network used by local drivers.

Mindful of social unrest, China had banned car-hailing apps being used by drivers with no taxi licences in an attempt to regulate the sector and fend off protests from taxi drivers.

But opposition has also been fierce, with taxi drivers going on strike in multiple Chinese cities in January to protest the loss of business to the car services.