Alibaba Unites Its Empire To Fight Back Against Meituan

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) and its fintech affiliate Ant Group, co-founded by Jack Ma, have launched a unified strategy to take on Meituan (OTC:MPNGY) in China’s instant commerce market.

For the first time since 2020, all of Alibaba’s key businesses, including Taobao, Tmall, Alipay, Alibaba Cloud, food delivery service Ele.me, grocery chain Freshippo, and travel platform Fliggy, are aligning to create a coordinated force of delivery workers.

Alibaba pledged to improve welfare for millions of riders, equipping them with new orange uniforms designed like racing suits and providing enhanced benefits, SCMP reported on Tuesday.

Also Read: Meituan Cries’ Irrational!’ As Alibaba Escalates Delivery Battle

The company committed funds for education and healthcare support for riders and their families.

In August, Ele.me briefly overtook Meituan’s daily delivery volumes after offering customers free drinks with orders.

Alibaba’s pivot also reflects a broader strategic reset. Under CEO Jiang Fan, the company abandoned its plan to split into independent entities and instead consolidated its domestic and international e-commerce operations. It also introduced a new membership program integrating marketplaces, food delivery, and travel bookings, further binding consumers to its ecosystem.

In August, after regulators intervened, Alibaba, Meituan, and JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) pledged to halt aggressive price wars in China’s $80 billion food delivery market.

Alibaba’s Ele.me promised to safeguard merchant margins, Meituan vowed to stop forcing subsidy programs, and JD committed to avoiding “malicious” discounts.

Despite the truce, analysts expect rivalry to persist under tighter controls, noting that months of $1 meals and billion-yuan subsidies drove market growth.

Since March, Alibaba has already lost $100 billion in market value, and Goldman Sachs projects Ele.me could lose 41 billion yuan by mid-2026.

Still, Alibaba stock is up 42% year-to-date, while JD.com is down 10%. Alibaba’s stock is climbing as its AI models gain traction, coupled with an e-commerce business turnaround backed by aggressive promotions.

Price Action: BABA shares are trading higher by 0.95% to $118.85 at last check Wednesday.

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