🇨🇳 China files new antitrust action against a top food delivery company

Say this for Chinese antitrust officials: They are staying even busier than those in America.  

• The latest action is against Meituan: Meituan is a giant food delivery company, similar to if you combined Instacart and DoorDash and just about every other delivery company out there, not to mention Groupon and Trip Advisor. Its valuation when it filed for an IPO was $60 billion, and it has more than half a billion users. Companies this large have had major trouble lately from the Chinese government. 

• China announced a fine of $530 million against Meituan: It’s the second massive antitrust fine against a tech company this year, following the $2.8 billion fine against Alibaba. China punished another tech company, Didi, by pulling it from app stores. 

China sees the same problems in major tech companies as the U.S.

But unlike the U.S., as the NYT points out, it can act swiftly. There’s no need for lawmakers to pass legislation or for something like the DOJ to win a lawsuit. Its centralized government can operate with greater authority. 

• Companies and analysts in China believe that the government isn’t just looking out for consumers either. They say China may not want to risk having private entities gain too much power and want to reel them in closer to the government.  

The Verdict

Further government actions seem likely against Chinese tech companies.