Meituan dangles better compensation to food delivery partners

Chinese delivery giant comes under scrutiny amid Xi's common prosperity drive

Drivers of food delivery service Meituan are seen in Shanghai. The delivery platform faces a raft of challenges ahead. © Reuters

YUSUKE HINATA, Nikkei staff writer

April 16, 2022 18:01 JST

GUANGZHOU -- Meituan, the market king among food delivery apps in China, intends to dish out better compensation to small and medium-size restaurants as well as its delivery workers in an effort to show it is in sync with President Xi Jinping's common prosperity initiative.

The move comes with a crackdown by authorities making it impossible for Meituan, which counts tech giant Tencent among its investors, to continue wielding its time-proven business model and dominant market position.