Top Chinese food delivery platforms urged to compete fairly

(ECNS) -- China's top market regulator on Tuesday summoned JD.com, Meituan, and Ele.me over rising concerns about competition problems in the food delivery sector. The platforms were urged to operate legally, compete fairly, and protect the rights of consumers, merchants, and delivery workers.

The regulatory meeting was held by China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), along with the Central Social Work Department, Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the Ministry of Commerce, following months of intensifying rivalry. JD.com officially relaunched its food delivery service in February, offering zero commission to restaurant partners who joined before May 1, 2025.

The company also became the first in China to provide full social security benefits to its full-time couriers, including "five social insurances and one housing fund." Meituan quickly followed with similar commitments for its riders nationwide, starting in Q2 2025, while highlighting its earlier investment of 1.4 billion yuan (about $0.19 billion) into pilot injury insurance programs since 2022.

On April 21, JD accused a rival — widely interpreted to be Meituan — of using "pick one of two" tactics to block riders from accepting its orders, claiming this would reduce rider income by up to 25%. Meituan denied the accusation, saying it has never restricted couriers from working across platforms like Ele.me or FlashEx.

Meanwhile, Ele.me escalated the battle on April 30 by announcing a major 10-billion-yuan subsidy campaign, positioning itself as focused on "real benefits, not PR wars."

JD's Q1 2025 earnings show rapid growth in the delivery space, with daily orders surpassing 10 million by late April across 166 cities. The segment's revenue reached 5.75 billion yuan, up 18.1% year-on-year, though losses widened to 1.33 billion yuan due to heavy investment in expansion and rider benefits. As of April 30, JD's workforce exceeded 720,000.

So far, none of the companies have issued public responses to the government summons.

(By Zhao Li)