Alibaba's Amap Challenges Meituan's Dominance in Local Services

As of September 10th, 2025, Alibaba's mapping app Amap is making a significant shift in its focus, moving away from its traditional navigation services and encroaching further into the territory of rival Meituan's local lifestyle offerings. Amap has announced the launch of a new feature called "Street Stars", which will use artificial intelligence algorithms to rank and recommend restaurants, hotels, and tourist destinations for its 170 million daily active users.

This move by Alibaba is part of the company's broader strategy to create a "comprehensive consumption platform" and challenge Meituan's dominance in China's booming one-hour delivery segment. The two tech giants have been locked in a fierce battle for market share, flooding consumers with discounts and coupons in a bid to capture a larger slice of the instant retail market.

To incentivize users to engage with the new "Street Stars" feature, Amap is offering a staggering 1 billion yuan (approximately $140 million) in subsidies for ride-hailing or in-store services. The new service will initially cover 300 cities and 1.6 million listings for local businesses, directly competing with apps like Meituan's Dazhong Dianping, which Chinese consumers have long relied on for restaurant recommendations, bookings, and more.

The intensifying competition between Alibaba and Meituan has drawn increased scrutiny from Chinese regulators, who are concerned about the potential for a downward price spiral in the industry. The government has already summoned the top e-commerce and food delivery firms for multiple meetings, warning against a race-to-the-bottom competition that could further contribute to the country's persistent consumer malaise.