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The Great Wall Street
Who Paid for China’s Instant Retail War?

Who Paid for China’s Instant Retail War?

China’s food delivery war exploded in Q2 2025. JD, Alibaba, and Meituan lit billions on fire. Here’s who actually paid—and what comes next.

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The Great Wall Street
Aug 03, 2025
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Who Paid for China’s Instant Retail War?
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This article is for paying subscribers. I summarize the instant retail war in China between JD, Alibaba, and Meituan. You’ll get a clear overview of the historical background, the most recent developments—including the July subsidy madness—and, most importantly, we now finally have first data points on who actually paid for all of this - or more precisely who did not pay for that.

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