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China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has summoned major food delivery platforms for talks regarding recent controversies over subsidies offered by food delivery platforms, Wang Qiuping, a spokesperson for the SAMR, said at a regular press conference on Tuesday.

The platforms responded quickly and collectively pledged to strictly comply with laws and regulations, refrain from unfair competition, resist vicious subsidies, and promote orderly development in the industry, Wang said.

For the next step, the SAMR will closely monitor competition in the food delivery industry, requiring platforms to improve service quality, adhere to food safety standards, and ensure a positive consumer experience. 

The administration will also urge platforms to reasonably manage subsidies to avoid disrupting the normal pricing system. Efforts will be made to encourage platforms to increase support for merchants, enhance the protection of delivery persons' rights and interests, and foster a healthy ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders - consumers, merchants, delivery persons, and platforms, Wang said.

On July 18, SAMR held a meeting with three major food delivery platforms - Ele.me, Meituan, and JD.com, urging them to strictly comply with national e-commerce, anti-unfair-competition, and food safety regulations.

According to a statement published on the SAMR website, the companies were required to fulfill their social responsibilities, standardize promotional activities, and engage in fair market competition.

The meeting highlighted the importance of building a balanced ecosystem that benefits consumers, platform operators, and delivery workers, thereby supporting the healthy and sustainable growth of the catering service industry.

The discussion comes amid intensifying competition in the food delivery market, with new players entering the sector to capture a share of the rapidly expanding industry.

This follows a similar meeting held approximately in May, when the SAMR and four other government agencies convened with leading food delivery platforms to address urgent issues related to competitive practices in the sector.

According to data from the China Internet Network Information Center, as of December 2024, the number of online food delivery users in China reached 592 million, representing 53.4 percent of the country's total internet users. 

Global Times