China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has called a meeting with prominent online food delivery companies, including Ele.me from Alibaba Group, Meituan and JD.com, to discuss ongoing price competition in the industry.
The regulator has stressed the need for these companies to adopt more “rational” competitive practices, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
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The SAMR’s meeting aimed to regulate promotional activities, promote fair competition and create a balanced environment that benefits consumers, merchants, delivery personnel and platform operators.
The regulator reminded the companies of their obligations under e-commerce, anti-unfair competition and food safety laws.
In a separate session, the SAMR addressed food safety issues linked to live-streaming e-commerce, revealing that some food products sold during live-streamed events contained high levels of food additives or pesticide residues.
Representatives from various live-streaming platforms and influencer agencies participated in this discussion, although their identities were not disclosed.
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By GlobalDataThis intervention by the SAMR follows a period of intense rivalry among the three food delivery platforms, which have been engaged in aggressive discounting to increase their market presence, according to the news agency.
Recent promotions included significant reductions in delivery fees for items such as tea and coffee, and the expansion of their offerings to include groceries and other products.
The competition intensified in mid-July 2025, with all three companies offering substantial subsidies.
JD.com, which initiated the competitive drive early in the year, revealed plans to invest more than 10bn yuan ($1.4bn) to enhance restaurant quality on its delivery platform.
The company had announced its entry to the Chinese food delivery sector in February 2025.
Alibaba has introduced a 50bn yuan subsidy initiative to encourage consumer spending on its Taobao Shangou service, along with promotional events.
These competitive tactics have reportedly resulted in a marked increase in transaction volumes, with daily orders rising from 100 million at the beginning of the year to more than 250 million recently.
However, the aggressive nature of this competition has led to criticism from industry figures, including Meituan’s core local commerce business director, who described the current state of competition as “irrational.”
