Photo: VCG

China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Tuesday said that it had recently summoned Lalamove, a leading domestic intra-city freight platform, and urged it to comply with relevant government regulations and ensure fair competition.

According to the SAMR's website, the agency called on the firm to strictly observe the Anti-Monopoly Law and other regulations, fulfill its compliance obligations, promptly correct irregular business practices and participate fairly in market competition. 

The watchdog also called on the company to safeguard the legitimate rights of truck drivers and consumers, and to make platform rules and algorithms fair, impartial and transparent, in order to promote the healthy development of the freight delivery industry.

Insiders said that the announcement sends a clear signal of strengthened regulation of the platform economy and guidance for the standardized development of the transport sector.

Data from bidding platforms show that China's logistics and transport industries are expanding rapidly. As of press time, searches for tender notices with the keyword "logistics" returned more than 300,000 project entries, while those with the keyword "transport" exceeded 15 million.

The SAMR's latest discussions with Lalamove go beyond addressing a single case. They mark a new phase of more refined and normalized regulation of the platform economy, with the core goals of breaking monopolies, ensuring fairness and protecting rights. This signals that the online freight sector and the broader transport industry are set for a deep restructuring toward healthier and more sustainable growth, according to an industry insider.

Earlier this month, the SAMR summoned some major food delivery platforms for talks regarding recent controversies over subsidies offered by those platforms, Wang Qiuping, a spokesperson of the SAMR, said at a regular press conference.

These platforms responded quickly and collectively pledged to 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. 

Global Times