One of China’s largest mobile app makers is expanding in the US just as many of the country’s other internet companies say they are heading back to the mainland.

在多家中国互联网公司计划回归中国之时，中国最大的移动应用开发商之一猎豹移动(Cheetah Mobile)正在美国扩张。

Cheetah Mobile, a spin-off of Kingsoft, China’s largest software maker, on Wednesday announced plans to hire a US-based chief technology officer and base its research and development in the country.

这家从中国最大的软件开发商金山软件(Kingsoft)拆分出来的公司周三宣布，将任命一位常驻美国的首席技术官，并在美国建设研发基地。

The group said it would “significantly expand” the number of US employees from 50 over the next two years, with Xu Ming, Cheetah’s president, adding that the company “must succeed in the US because the US is the beachhead for the world”.

猎豹表示，未来两年将“大力扩充”美国员工数量（目前为50人）。该公司总裁徐鸣还表示，猎豹“必须在美国取得成功，因为美国是全球市场的桥头堡”。

Cheetah is unusual among Chinese internet companies because it generates most of its sales from outside the country: overseas revenues accounted for $84m of its total $158m turnover for the third quarter of 2015.

在中国互联网公司中，猎豹与众不同的地方是，该公司的大部分销售额来自中国以外：2015年第三季度，在该公司1.58亿美元的总收入中，海外收入占8400万美元。

The company’s apps are ubiquitous in China. They include Clean Master and CM security, popular cleaning and security apps, while Piano Tiles 2 was the most downloaded free game on Google Play in September in the US and fifth globally, according to the company.

该公司的应用在中国很有市场。其中包括两款清理和安全应用——清理大师(Clean Master)和安全大师(CM security)。而据猎豹称，去年9月，《别踩白块儿2》(Piano Tiles 2)是谷歌应用商店Google Play全美国下载量最多的免费游戏，在全球位列第五。

In spite of seeing third-quarter revenue jump 110 per cent year on year, Cheetah’s share price has fallen 25 per cent over the past 12 months to $15, down from a peak of $35 last year.

尽管2015年第三季度收入同比增长110%，但猎豹股价在过去12个月累计下跌25%，至15美元，去年曾达到35美元的峰值。

One concern for investors is Cheetah’s business model, whereby free apps are used to tempt consumers to play games. This process works in China, but rival Qihoo holds most of the market for such apps. In the west “trying to use apps as a back door to gaming is unproven”, said a bank analyst.

猎豹的业务模式是投资者担忧的因素之一：利用免费应用吸引消费者玩游戏。这种模式在中国行得通，但竞争对手奇虎360(Qihoo)占据这类应用的大部分市场份额。一位银行分析师称，在西方“试图把应用作为玩游戏的后门的模式尚未得到证明”。

Many Chinese companies have become disenchanted with the US market, with some announcing plans to delist from the country because they felt Chinese companies were unfairly penalised. But Mr Xu said he was undaunted.

很多中国企业已对美国市场不抱幻想，一些企业宣布计划从美国退市，因为它们认为，中国企业在美国受到不公平对待，处于劣势。但徐鸣并不气馁。

“Although Chinese companies may not be receiving the best valuations from US markets today, we believe over time a good company with a good product will get a fair valuation,” he said.

他表示：“尽管中国企业现在可能没有从美国市场获得最佳估价，但我们认为，假以时日，一家有着优秀产品的优秀企业将得到公平估价。”

In China, price-earnings ratios for the sector, though dented by sell-offs in 2015 and 2016, remain above multiples in the US. Social dating app Momo and search engine Qihoo, both of which are listed in New York, said last year they would seek to go private, possibly in preparation for relisting elsewhere.

在中国，互联网行业股票的市盈率尽管因2015年和2016年的抛售潮而有所下降，但仍高于美国。社交应用陌陌和搜索引擎奇虎都在纽约上市，但它们去年均表示寻求私有化，可能是准备在其他地方重新上市。

Baidu, the Chinese search engine, has set up an artificial intelligence lab in the US. Robin Li, chairman of Nasdaq-listed company, recently announced an offer to buy Baidu’s video business for $2.8bn, with some reports suggesting it could lead to an IPO in China.

在纳斯达克上市的中国搜索引擎公司百度(Baidu)已在美国成立了一个人工智能实验室。百度董事长李彦宏(Robin Li)最近宣布出价28亿美元收购百度的视频业务，一些报道称，这可能促成该业务在中国上市。