Hi,

I'd recommend getting a ccTLD (.cn) and hosting in China or Hong Kong. Also localizing your website with the help of native professionals.

Pros: This is the clearest sign to Baidu (The predominant search engine in China) and to all search engines in general.

Cons: The domain authority of the new site will be completely independent of the current site and it might be expensive

Now, if you wish to use a gTLD and put the Chinese version of the site in a subdirectory. That's fine too. Just remember to add the Hreflang tags.

Pros: Less expensive

Cons: Chinese search engines and internet users favorite sites that are hosted locally.