In July 2025, China's major e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba Group's Ele.me, Meituan, and JD.com, have reached an agreement to reduce their aggressive discounting strategies in the highly competitive food delivery market. This accord follows guidance from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), which encouraged more sustainable competition practices to foster a healthier market environment. The SAMR's intervention came after months of intense market battles characterized by substantial discounts and subsidies aimed at user acquisition. During this period, Meituan reported a peak of 150 million daily orders by mid-July 2025, while Alibaba's Taobao Shangou facilitated 80 million deliveries on a single day in early July. JD.com also saw significant activity, reporting 25 million daily meal orders by mid-June.
In line with the SAMR's call for standardized promotional activities, Meituan has committed to ceasing pressure on merchants to offer discounts. JD.com has pledged to avoid excessive promotions, such as offering vouchers for complimentary items, and Alibaba's Ele.me has committed to protecting its merchant partners' profit margins. These commitments align with a broader regulatory push to prevent market distortions and encourage fair practices across developing sectors, a strategy also pursued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The intense competition and subsequent regulatory actions have impacted the companies' stock performance. Following the SAMR's guidance, Meituan's shares saw an increase of up to 5%, while JD.com and Alibaba's shares gained between 1.5% and 2.5%. As of August 1, 2025, Alibaba's stock was trading at $120.63, a 2.82% rise from its previous closing price. The companies' commitment to reducing aggressive discounting is expected to foster more sustainable growth within the food delivery market, balancing consumer benefits with merchant profitability. This move towards more rational competition echoes past cycles of aggressive subsidies followed by regulatory intervention in China's tech landscape, where companies struggled to sustain high spending levels. For instance, in 2015, Meituan and Ele.me reportedly spent significant amounts on subsidies, a pattern that eventually led to industry-wide pullbacks due to financial unsustainability. The current commitment to curb price wars represents a recognition of these underlying economic realities and a strategic adjustment for long-term viability, with JD.com alone investing RMB 5 billion to promote its food delivery and local same-city businesses in 2025.