It partnered with China expertise China Broadband Capital and Sequoia China to expand into the Chinese market and find a chief executive for its China operations. (File photo)

Online home-rental marketplace Airbnb Inc. made an announcement on Aug. 19 that it was expanding in China. Airbnb joined a growing list of large American Internet companies that have begun experimenting with new models to enter the Chinese market.

It partnered with China expertise China Broadband Capital and Sequoia China to expand into the Chinese market and find a chief executive for its China operations.

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, said the strategy closely resembles one taken by the professional social network LindedIn, which worked with the same two venture capital firms when it introduced a local site in early 2014. They can help Airbnb customize technology for the Chinese market.

Airbnb, founded in San Francisco in August 2008, is a website for people to rent lodging. It has over 1,500,000 listings in 34,000 cities and 190 countries.

Airbnb’s commitment to China, just like Uber’s, is a bold move. For both Airbnb and Uber, China is a big market with a population of 1.5 billion and major transportation and housing shortages in the urban areas. The U.S. and European markets are pretty saturated, so Airbnb and Uber can point to China as the new market of growth.

But the litany of reasons why American companies struggle in China is the fact that the Chinese government favours local companies. It is gambling not only battling home-grown competitors, but also facing complex regulatory issues. Uber and Airbnb have their work cut out for them.