NEW YORK (The Deal) -- The race to support Chinese e-commerce and digital-communications companies is on and intensifying by the week. In the latest fundraising news, online used-car auction company Uxin said it had secured $170 million from a Sino-American trio of backers.

Chinese search-engine provider Baidu (BIDU) - Get Report, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and New York-based Coatue Investment Management provided the financing, but it wasn't clear who is stumping up what and KKR declined to elaborate on the companies' joint statement.

Four-year-old Uxin said it will use the money to expand in the business-to-consumer used-car market through a new Web site, www.xin.com and an app that it is now in development.

The company's business-to-business platform has a 47.8% share of the Chinese used-car market by transaction volume, the company said, citing iResearch. Including on-site auctions, Uxin handles more than 150,000 transactions a year and provides associated vehicle inspection services. Since last year, it has also offered auto financing.

"With the launch of www.xin.com, we're in a position to offer used car buyers wider choice, more transparency, and greater confidence," Uxin CEO Chris Dai said in the statement.

Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo said the company's investment meshes with its aim of "connecting people with services, and on offering an end-to-end, closed loop experience from initial query to payment and fulfillment."

Baidu is one of several Chinese Internet and new media market leaders seizing the initiative to invest in recently formed Chinese companies aiming to unlock the potential of China's enormous population and the growth in Internet and smartphone penetration. In January, Baidu formed part of a group of investors pumping 1 billion renminbi ($161 million) into Wanda E-commerce. Another investor in Wanda E-commerce was Tencent Holdings Ltd., an Internet service provider that recently agreed alongside JD.com to inject about $1.3 billion into Chinese automotive content and marketing services provider Bitauto Holdings (BITA) - Get Report.

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) - Get Report leads the pack. Its diverse range of digital, new media and Internet-related investments widened in scope with a January deal worth $590 million for a stake in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu Technology.

KKR's Julian Wolhardt oversaw the Uxin investment for the New York buyout firm, which invests in China through its China Growth Fund.

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