The Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce Juhaidian Branch announced on Monday a consultative dialogue – "breaking involution and pursuing common good" – on comprehensive rectification of involution competition within the platform economy.
The mechanism serves as a regular communication bridge between platforms and their merchants, workers, consumers, and industry associations. In a recent first round of consultations focused on reducing costs and increasing profits for food delivery merchants, the authorities reached consensus on five areas: optimizing subsidies, fee concessions, rational marketing, support and protection, and standardizing delivery management.
Food delivery giants Meituan (3690), Taobao Flash Shopping, and JD.com (9618) also joined the discussion, together with restaurant merchants and industry associations.
Platforms will conduct promotional activities in a reasonable manner by rationally allocating subsidy funds, scientifically setting caps on order discounts, and curbing irrational, large-scale subsidies. Platforms will also increase support for quality restaurant merchants through fee rebates and rate discounts.
The three platforms have pledged to actively implement the relevant measures, refine their execution plans based on their respective business characteristics, and leverage technological empowerment and service upgrades to effectively reduce burdens and alleviate difficulties for restaurant merchants, jointly fostering a well-regulated and orderly online business environment.
