China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has released draft rules to curb what it views as abusive subsidy practices in the food-delivery industry.
According to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, the proposals will be open for public comment until 17 July 2026.
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The draft regulations aim to outlaw using subsidies and selling below cost to disrupt market competition.
The SAMR was quoted by the publication as saying: “China’s food-delivery platforms exhibit problems such as using capital advantages to seize market share, coercing businesses on their platforms into taking part in subsidies and triggering irrational competition in the industry.”
The regulator added that such instances are damaging merchants, riders and consumers.
The draft bans subsidies that affect market order and prohibits platforms from forcing merchants to join subsidy programmes or shifting subsidy costs onto them.
Platforms would also be barred from using financial strength to engage in monopolistic or unfair competition, and from pricing goods below cost.
They would be required to disclose details of subsidy campaigns before they begin and after they end, with related legal duties and liabilities spelt out in the document.
The draft follows a wider regulatory push on food-delivery platforms, covering areas such as food safety, worker rights and price competition.
In April, SAMR fined seven e-commerce platforms a total of 3.6 billion yuan ($532.7m) for breaches linked to food delivery safety.
Pinduoduo, Meituan and JD.com were among those penalised for not properly verifying food-vendor licences and allowing unverified “ghost” kitchens to operate.
