Baidu to further expand mapping service abroad

BEIJING -- Chinese Internet giant Baidu announced Tuesday that it will expand its mapping service to over 150 countries and regions by the end of 2016 as part of its strategy to go global.

Baidu's desktop and mobile mapping service have established footholds in 18 Asia Pacific countries including Japan, India and New Zealand. They are expected to see about half of its users from overseas markets by 2020, according to Li Dongmin at a press conference.

Baidu currently holds a whopping 70 percent share of China's mapping service market, with 500 million active users. Google Maps is the current leader in the global mapping service market.

The search engine giant aims to first offer Chinese mapping service to tap into the growing mapping service demand from Chinese tourists traveling overseas, which reached over 100 million last year, before offering foreign language mapping services for local users.

In addition to helping plan appropriate routes and navigation, the company will also integrate online hotel and restaurant reservations and group buying services in overseas markets through cooperation with local online travel agencies and e-commerce platforms, Li added.

Going global is one of Baidu's key strategies as the company aspired to be a global brand. Baidu's services have covered over 200 countries with over one billion overseas users by 2015.