The article is off-the-topic.
It states clearly, Uber hasn't got to the state that Chinese government would put the thumb on the scale, but go straight and use Google's example to picture what would happen if Uber ever close to domination, in order to resell pieces of his book about Google's exit from China.
He might be right. Chinese government is as shady as it has ever been. But since Uber hasn't ever got close to what Google has been in China(Google has been close to dominate the market back in 2009), and their completely different nature of business, Uber's failure in China resembles very little to what forces out Google.
I won't go in deep analysis why Uber decided to make the move. But bear in mind, China has its own internet ecosystem, because the infamous Great Firewall, to the point, the government publish pieces that the 'internet' will keep functioning even US decides to cut China off, showcasing how 'secure' and isolated it is. When it comes to internet, I cannot remember what foreign services cannot be replaced by local counterparts. Besides, those local companies are very successful, Tencent and Alibaba are both 100B worth company, they both invest huge money in Didi. And when it comes to internet, China is pretty much catches up to U.S. in terms of technology. If the situation is reversed, would you ever believe Didi can compete with Uber here in U.S.? I don't think so. And for Uber, China is something good to have, but for Didi it is that they couldn't afford to lose, the determination to battle to the ground is different.