Chinese food and on-demand delivery giant Meituan is joining a group of Chinese internet giants in launching initiatives to help the country’s tariff-hit export businesses pivot to domestic markets amid escalating trade tensions between China and the US.
Beijing-based Meituan said on Saturday that it would actively heed the central government’s call to bolster domestic demand and consumption, by helping export-oriented businesses set up shop on its platform, according to a statement published on its official WeChat public account.
Beijing and Washington locked horns in a tariff war after the Trump administration slapped tariffs on Chinese goods, as well as those from other countries, in early April, triggering a series of retaliatory measures from Beijing. Both sides have since imposed higher tariffs on imports, taking a toll on China’s export-oriented businesses.
Meituan said it had introduced a series of measures to provide support in marketing, operations, delivery and fee exemptions to build an “integrated domestic and foreign trade” ecosystem so that export products will “benefit more local consumers”.
The move comes as Chinese online retail giants including JD.com and Alibaba Group Holding’s Freshippo are rolling out similar initiatives to help tariff-hit businesses expand in local markets. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
