Didi Kuaidi, China’s largest internet car hailing company, has named Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang as a senior adviser and a board observer, adding another internet celebrity to its team in its increasingly global fight against US rival Uber.

With its position in China secure for the time being, Didi Kuaidi has been turning its focus abroad. It bought a stake in US-based Lyft last summer and launched a global alliance with India’s Ola, Singapore’s GrabTaxi, and Lyft aimed at fending off further Uber encroachment.

Taiwan-born Mr Yang has a wealth of experience with China’s internet sector, having been an early investor and board member of Alibaba, the Chinese ecommerce giant that is an investor in Didi Kuaidi. He is also an independent director on Lenovo’s board.