The platforms have promised to end price wars, but at the same time, they continue to invest in opening new kitchens and attracting partners.
Meituan, Alibaba, and JD.com announced plans to curb price wars in China’s food delivery sector on August 1, 2025.
The three companies released statements pledging to avoid aggressive discounting and promote fairer competition, following recent warnings from Chinese regulators.
In July, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) urged the firms to reduce subsidy-driven competition that has pressured profit margins.
JD.com said it would avoid “malicious” subsidies. Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me said they would protect merchant margins and not force participation in discounts.
According to the South China Morning Post, digital platforms are becoming more involved in the food supply chain. Meituan and JD.com are taking China’s delivery war to another level, as the two instant commerce rivals have started building thousands of central kitchens in strategic locations to speed up fulfilment of online food orders.
On-demand local delivery giant Meituan is expected to continue leading the market through its launch of 1,200 so-called Raccoon Restaurants over the next three years, a plan it revealed early last month.
These facilities are designed as food court-like hubs that host various restaurant chains, which operate their kitchens only for takeaways. These sites are expected to help drive down costs and boost efficiency for Meituan’s restaurant chain partners, according to a company statement.
JD.com, meanwhile, announced a plan to invest 1 billion yuan (US$139 million) to recruit “cuisine partners”, as part of the firm’s roll-out of 10,000 self-operated 7Fresh kitchens over the next three years. This infrastructure would enable the company to promote 1,000 different sets of menus to a nationwide audience.
Source: Tech in Asia, SCMP
