BEIJING - Chinese ride-hailing service Didi said on Monday that transactions on its platform hit a record high in January, exceeding those of similar services in the United States and Canada combined.

The gross merchandise value generated from Didi's transportation services in China rose to $800 million in January, compared with $600 million generated in the same period by similar services in the United States and Canada.

The surge in transactions was fueled by the continued penetration of Didi's ride-on-demand services into more than 200 lower-tier cities.

The Beijing-based start-up has been expanding its ride-on-demand services to lower-tier Chinese cities since December to retain its dominance in fierce competition with rivals such as Uber and CAR.

Uber previously said it aims to operate in 100 Chinese cities this year.

The expansion into lower-tier cities helped Didi gain 10 million new users for its ride-on-demand services in January.

Didi also said it has managed to turn a profit in half of the more than 400 Chinese cities where it operates.

The start-up, valued at $16.5 billion, has been billed as a success of the "sharing economy" in China, as a growing number of Internet start-ups have mobilized private cars, homes and kitchens to provide services to users.