JD.com released an open letter to all delivery brothers on April 21, 2025. In this letter, JD.com seems to deeply hate the “certain platform” that brutally exploits delivery riders—without saying it explicitly, it’s known to be Meituan—constantly claiming to consider the well-being of delivery brothers. JD.com harshly criticizes Meituan for “devouring human blood and drinking human flesh,” strengthening its exploitation of merchants and riders through various means to amass wealth; meanwhile, it also launches a series of “emergency rescue measures,” attempting to win hearts with a “righteous” stance.
However, JD.com is not truly against Meituan’s exploitation of delivery riders, but is frantic about Meituan’s monopoly position in the delivery field, resentful that it has not become the party “skinning two layers off a cow.” According to a research report from CICC Securities, in 2024, Meituan’s market share in food delivery was 65%, Ele.me accounted for 33%, and the remaining platforms combined only made up 2%. In 2024, Meituan’s annual transaction users exceeded 770 million, with 14.5 million active merchants, 30,000 lightning warehouses, and a total of 7.5 million riders; annual revenue reached 337.6 billion yuan, with a net profit of 35.807 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 158%; as of April 19, 2025, its Hong Kong stock market value was 834 billion HKD. During the same period, JD’s revenue was 1.16 trillion yuan, with a net profit of 41.359 billion yuan, up 71% year-on-year, and a market value of 404.1 billion HKD. Since announcing its entry into the delivery market on February 11, 2024, JD has been trying every trick to snatch market share from Meituan and Ele.me, with hundreds of billions in subsidies, commission exemptions, low cut rates, and its “golden signboard” of social insurance and housing funds.
On April 15, Meituan officially launched “Meituan Flash Purchase,” focusing on “30-minute delivery” instant retail service, and in its promotional video, it sarcastically mocked JD with the slogan “Your stuff, wait a bit longer,” full of gunpowder. In response, Liu Qiangdong pretended to be high-profile, saying, “Don’t fight mouth-to-mouth, care about the courier brothers rushing in the wind,” hypocritically playing the role of a “caring” charitable capitalist.
In this open letter, JD again plays the role of a “caring good capitalist” for riders. For example, it states: “All riders banned by competing platforms will be guaranteed sufficient orders from JD to ensure their income does not decrease.” On the surface, it’s “sending warmth in the snow,” but in reality, it’s just snatching food from Meituan to expand its market. The exploitation of riders is merely changing the boss from Wang Puzhong to Liu Qiangdong.
The letter also mentions, “Increase recruitment of full-time riders, with the number of positions rising from 50,000 to 100,000 in the next three months,” and “all riders, if they have partners, JD can prioritize work for them, such as full-time couriers or cleaners, to achieve ‘dual-worker’ treatment and greatly increase family income.” JD portrays exploitation as “sending warmth,” but essentially, it is taking advantage of the large unemployment army under China’s social imperialist crisis. According to previous data released by Li Keqiang, over 200 million people in China are engaged in gig economy work. The more unemployed people there are, the more capital can suppress wages; JD even aims to squeeze the blood and sweat of riders’ families.
Regarding the “choose one of two” issue, JD hypocritically claims “never forcing riders to choose,” encouraging riders to take orders from multiple platforms to “maximize income.” But what JD does not mention is that the core problem is not insufficient orders but the extremely low unit price. Because of the low unit price, riders have no choice but to cross-platform and rush around tirelessly. Some riders report that the unit price has dropped from about 15 yuan to around 3 yuan. After a platform algorithm reform, the platform determines the unit price based on monthly order volume, requiring riders to complete over 1,600 orders per month and more than 50 per day just to earn a barely livable income. Driven by this “digital whip,” riders have become “human engines” under platform algorithm domination.
JD’s pride in its “five insurances and one fund” (social insurance and housing fund) is just another mask of exploitation. In the social imperialist China, this is essentially a new tax on the working people under the dominance of bureaucratic monopoly bourgeoisie. The five insurances and one fund cannot guarantee the real interests of workers; instead, they are a trap set by the state machinery to maintain stability and extract more surplus value.
In the open letter, JD exposes Meituan’s methods of squeezing riders, such as algorithm exploitation, high traffic accident rates, and restaurants suffering heavy losses while still funneling profits back to the platform, and proposes the so-called “overtime free order” policy, attempting to garner sympathy. But the costs of this are ultimately passed on to merchants and riders; JD will not truly “lose money.” Recently, JD has adjusted its subsidy plan, with merchants sharing the discount costs, and the so-called “altruism” is just a way to buy hearts.
From start to finish, this “open letter to riders” from JD is not genuinely speaking from the riders’ perspective, but is nakedly serving market expansion. It’s a “dog-eat-dog” monopoly capitalist competition wrapped in a layer of “benevolence.” Whether it’s Meituan or JD, both are monopolistic capital groups exploiting the surplus value and blood and sweat of the working people. The one who can exploit more ruthlessly and control more will win in the capitalist market competition.
The true path is not to choose a “good capitalist” between JD and Meituan, but to overthrow this exploitative system built on riders’ blood and sweat, organize and unite all oppressed workers, oppose the ever-increasing exploitation by monopolistic capitalists, and fight for the rights and future of all laborers. This is not about “a few more yuan” from one platform, but a fundamental class struggle issue. Only under the leadership of the proletariat organization can riders escape the oppression of the capitalist social system and usher in a truly bright future of their own.
