China's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), subscribed to roughly 10% of a 1 billion U.S. dollars funding round disclosed by Airbnb in a filing with U.S. securities regulators, according to reports by China Money Network.

Airbnb now is valued at 31 billion U.S. dollars according to reports.

CIC's investment in Airbnb is seen as a strategic move to help Airbnb to better explore China's market.

An accumulation of 3.5 million Chinese outbound tourists have used Airbnb services, according to the company's report. Among all the Airbnb users of outbound travels, the number of Chinese tourists increased by 500% in 2015. Evidently, China has become an important market for Airbnb. 

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn