China Digital Digest Weekly: Exploring the Chinese Digital Landscape
- ClickInsights
- 9 hours ago
- 6 min read
Hi folks, we are back with our weekly edition of China’s Digital Digest, wherein we bring you weekly updates on China’s digital space. The report takes a quick glance at China’s complex and rapidly evolving social media landscape by providing updates on the latest happenings across the social media industry. Here are the major highlights of the report.
1. JD.Com Offers Free Takeaway for Delays, Expands Rider Hiring
Chinese e-commerce giant JD has announced that consumers who wait more than 20 minutes for their takeaway orders will receive them free of charge. This move comes as its rival restricts food delivery riders to take orders from only one platform.
JD.com appears to be doubling down on expansion and innovation. According to JD founder Liu Qiangdong, JD will double its delivery rider hiring target from 50,000 to 100,000 in the next three months. For riders with partners, JD plans to offer priority job placements for their spouses to help boost family income. Liu also noted that JD now employs over 710,000 people, and based on current growth, expects that number to exceed one million within the next four years.
2. JD and Meituan Food Fight Spills Into Public In Chinese Delivery Platform Spat
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, which launched a food delivery service in February, has publicly accused on-demand delivery giant Meituan of blocking part-time delivery riders from accepting orders on both platforms – a claim Meituan denied before accusing JD of similar behaviour.
The accusation came two days after Meituan said it did not not restrict delivery personnel’s access or force them to quit the platform. Screenshots of online group chats circulated online allegedly show people warning part-time riders also working for JD that they would have their Meituan accounts terminated. Meituan said the accusations were false. The “pick one from two” tactic that forces gig economy workers and businesses to use only one platform has previously been the subject of antitrust investigations in China. In 2021, Meituan was fined 3.44 billion yuan (US$533 million at the time) over forcing restaurants to pick its platform.
3. China’s Fast Delivery Market to See ‘Clash of Titans’ As JD.Com Takes On Meituan
China’s on-demand services industry, which employs millions of gig workers and empowers a convenient urban lifestyle, is expected to see a “clash of titans” as e-commerce giant JD.com moves ahead with plans to challenge the dominance of Meituan.
JD.com, founded by billionaire Richard Liu Qiangdong, will hire 50,000 fast delivery workers as an initial step in facing off against on-demand services giant Meituan. According to a statement from JD.com, the new delivery workers will primarily be assigned to the JD Now on-demand retail business, which covers more than 100,000 self-operated stores selling goods such as clothing, home appliances and medicine.
4. JD.Com Boss Delivers Food in Publicity Stunt to Challenge Meituan
Richard Liu Qiangdong, the founder of JD.com, who has an estimated net worth of US$6.5 billion, recently donned a uniform to transport meal orders on an electric bike in Beijing, highlighting the company’s resolve to challenge rival Meituan’s dominance in the delivery services market.
The publicity stunt, which also included a hotpot dinner with delivery workers, received widespread media coverage in China. It follows an unusual war of words between JD.com and Meituan, with the two companies accusing each other of blocking riders from accepting orders on rival platforms.
5. Temu Cuts US Ads After Trump’s Tariffs, as App Downloads Plunge
Online shopping platform Temu, owned by PDD Holdings, has suspended its advertising spending on major US channels such as Google and Meta Platforms, as new US tariffs pose challenges to its business model.
Since April 12, the daily number of advertisements placed on Google by Temu’s main entity, WhaleCo, has plummeted to just 14, a sharp decline from between 30,000 and 60,000 from April 6 to 9, according to the Google Ads Transparency Centre. Temu has “turned off all their Google Shopping ads in the US” as of April 9, Mike Ryan, head of e-commerce insights at online advertising agency Smarter Ecommerce, said on LinkedIn.
6. Temu and Shein to Raise US Prices Over Trump’s Tariffs
Chinese-backed online retailers Shein and Temu have notified US consumers that they would raise prices starting April 25 “due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs”, as Chinese imports face significant tariff increases and the expiration of key exemptions.
The two platforms, known for offering budget-friendly goods sourced primarily from China, issued nearly identical statements on their US websites. Shein, founded by low-profile entrepreneur Sky Xu, and Temu, owned by PDD Holdings, founded by billionaire Colin Huang Zheng, both attributed the price hikes to rising operating costs. With the exception of a few words, the notices are nearly identical down to their structure and punctuation.
7. Alibaba.Com Climbs in US Shopping App Charts as Consumers Hunt for Bargains
Alibaba Group Holding’s wholesale marketplace briefly topped the shopping app charts in the US, as American consumers hunt for bargains amid fears of rising prices.
Alibaba.com, the e-commerce giant’s business-facing shopping platform, became the top shopping app on the iOS app store in the US at one point. The Alibaba.com mobile app occupied the third spot on the US iOS app store’s shopping category for most of the week, having climbed from 18th place a month ago, according to data on analytics platform Sensor Tower.
8. Taobao Tops Download List in 16 Countries
Alibaba’s Taobao app has topped the download list in 16 countries, including France, Canada, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Russia.
It also ranked in the top 10 in 123 countries. Between April 12 and 15, Taobao’s overseas downloads surged from 104,000 to 326,000. iOS downloads in North America and Europe jumped by 483% and 439%, respectively. Following the spike in global downloads, the hashtag #淘宝客服英语咨询量暴增 Taobao English Customer Service Requests Surge began trending on Weibo, with many netizens sharing screenshots of Taobao merchants chatting with customers in English, with some saying their customer service teams are now undergoing English training.
9. DHL Express Suspends Delivery of Certain US Parcels
DHL Express has temporarily suspended the transportation of some parcels to the US following the implementation of new requirements for higher value shipments.
The suspension applies to parcels worth more than $800 and comes after new US customs regulations were introduced that reduced the threshold for a formal import procedure from $2,500 to $800. The new regulation is understood to have caused significant additional customs clearance costs. Business-to-business shipments from companies to companies will continue to be delivered. Shipments from companies to private individuals with a value of less than $800 will also continue.
10. US Tariffs Force Hong Kong Ecommerce Operators to Seek New Markets
Hong Kong’s e-commerce operators are exploring new markets and delaying major business decisions in light of US tariffs, industry players have said.
One industry body said e-commerce firms could look at expanding their operations in traditional markets when diversifying their business, while also exploring emerging ones in Southeast Asia, as well as Central and South America. US President Donald Trump has announced that the tariff imposed on small parcels sent to the United States from mainland China and Hong Kong would be further raised to 120 per cent from 90 percent.
11. Digital Wallets Are Finally Taking Hold in Hong Kong, Report Shows
Digital wallets are on track to become the dominant payment method in Hong Kong by 2030, accounting for nearly half of all online and in-store transactions, marking a significant shift away from traditional credit card payments, according to a new report.
Digital wallets – typically smartphone-enabled payment systems run by technology companies such as Google and Apple – are projected to account for 45 percent of the city’s online transaction value and 48 percent of point-of-sale (POS) transactions at bricks-and-mortar shops within the next five years, according to the 2025 Global Payments Report published by Worldpay.
Wrapping Up
The vast and diverse nature of the Chinese Social Media space makes it incredibly challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments taking place. However, China’s Digital Digest brings you all the latest updates from there to keep you abreast of all the evolving trends.
To delve deeper into the findings of our latest report, click here.
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