Airbnb breaks off its China operations so it can play by the rules

Airbnb in China is officially separate from the rest of Airbnb.

The company is spinning off its Chinese business into a separate company. All Airbnb users who have listings in China will have their information transferred to the new entity.

The short-term home rental company sent updated terms of service to its users Monday night sharing the changes.

Airbnb's new structure will take effect Dec. 7. The changes won't apply to listings in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.

Users will be notified about further transfer of their personal information after Dec. 7.

The change in structure relates to regulations surrounding foreign businesses in China.

"Like hotels and other businesses operating in China, Airbnb China has to comply with local laws and regulations, including privacy and information disclosure laws, and may be required by Chinese government agencies to disclose information held by it, such as host, guest, and listing information relating to stays in China," Airbnb wrote in its email to users.

Airbnb said in a blog post that China has counted 1 million guest arrivals at Chinese listings. The growth in users staying at Airbnb listings in China has been accompanied by growth in Chinese users using Airbnb worldwide. Chinese travelers have been guests 3.5 million times at listings worldwide.

By spinning off its Chinese business, the company is making a commitment to growing further in China. The company competes with Chinese home-sharing businesses like Tujia and Mayi, Fortune pointed out.

In its blog post, Airbnb highlighted partnerships with Shenzhen, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shanghai to encourage tourism.

"As more and more people begin using Airbnb in China, we’ve been working to update our platform to ensure we can provide better, more localized services to our community," the company wrote in its blog post.

The company advised users who don't want their information used by Airbnb China to delete any listings in the country.