Richard Liu, founder of JD.com, announced plans to expand the company’s international presence and enter new sectors such as food delivery and travel.

Liu discussed the challenges JD.com faced over the past five years, labeling this period as the “darkest” in the company’s history.

He noted that JD.com had stagnated while competitors like PDD Holdings advanced.

Liu stressed the need to use JD’s logistics network for growth in areas like meal delivery, a sector the company entered in March.

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🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Richard Liu’s return signals the end of tech crackdown’s leadership retreat

Liu’s reemergence as an active leader follows a pattern seen across Chinese tech during the regulatory storm of 2020-2022, when many founders stepped back from public roles.

During this period, Liu joined other tech founders who retreated from CEO positions, with JD.com’s stock suffering a 25% decline in 2022 amid the broader tech crackdown 1.

The regulatory environment has since evolved toward a more balanced approach, with the State Administration for Market Regulation now emphasizing “maintaining development security while promoting growth” rather than purely punitive measures 2.

This shift aligns with the government’s renewed focus on tech firms as drivers of employment and consumption in the post-COVID economy, creating space for founders like Liu to reassert their strategic vision 2.

Liu’s characterization of the past five years as “lost” corresponds to the timeline of heightened regulatory scrutiny that disrupted JD’s innovation cycle and market positioning.

2️⃣ JD’s food delivery gambit represents both defensive and offensive strategy

JD’s aggressive entry into food delivery isn’t just about market expansion. Analysts frame it as a strategic response to Meituan’s growing dominance in “instant retail” that threatens JD’s core commerce business 3.

Bernstein analysts specifically note that JD’s approach combines defensive positioning to protect its existing business with an offensive push to capture daily consumer engagement through meal delivery 3.

The strategy appears to be working on some level, with Liu claiming 40% of new food delivery users converting to e-commerce customers, showing how the service functions as a customer acquisition channel for JD’s broader ecosystem.

This competitive dynamic has become intense, erasing billions in market value from both companies and reflecting investor concerns about sustainable profitability in a low-margin industry with fragile consumer loyalty 4.

Despite the significant investment required, JD reported a 15.8% year-on-year revenue increase to 301.1 billion yuan in Q1 2025, with net income rising to 10.9 billion yuan from 7.1 billion the previous year—suggesting the company can sustain the competitive pressure 5.

3️⃣ JD’s logistics-focused model faces its biggest test in food delivery competition

JD.com’s entry into food delivery leverages its substantial logistics infrastructure, including the world’s largest Kubernetes cluster that improved deployment times from hours to seconds and enhanced data center efficiency by 20-30% 6.

This infrastructure-heavy approach stands in contrast to PDD’s asset-light model, representing a fundamental strategic difference in how Chinese e-commerce giants approach growth and market expansion.

JD has historically invested heavily in supply chain capabilities and branded products, a strategy that helped it process a transaction volume of $23 billion during the 2018 Singles Day event 6 but also contributed to slower growth compared to more nimble competitors.

The food delivery battle will test whether JD’s logistics expertise can transfer successfully to a different operational model, where Meituan has established significant advantages through years of optimization in restaurant networks and delivery systems 4.

The competition has drawn regulatory attention, with the State Administration for Market Regulation already urging fair practices among delivery providers, echoing earlier concerns that prompted the original tech crackdown 5.

Recent JD.com developments

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