China’s transport ministry puts more pressure on Didi with strong words on regulation and compliance
- The ministry, one of seven bodies currently carrying out a cybersecurity investigation into Didi, said it will make every effort to support probe
- The statement did not name Didi directly but the tone was tough compared with comments in the wake of a March meeting
China’s Ministry of Transport, the key regulator in terms of the country’s ride-hailing industry, has toughened its stance on platforms like Didi Chuxing by calling out specific problems and threatening to impose deadlines on compliance.
The ministry, which is one of seven ministerial bodies currently carrying out a cybersecurity investigation into Didi, said it will make every effort to support the cyberspace probe according to the summary of a meeting by an interministerial body coordinating policy on “new forms of transport services”.
The meeting, chaired by transport minister Li Xiaoping – the son of former Chinese premier Li Peng, concluded that it must impose deadlines on ride-hailing platforms to remove non-compliant vehicles and drivers, a move that could hit Didi hard as only 30 per cent of its ride-hailing vehicles in service as of June met regulatory requirements.
By comparison, 52 per cent of rival Meituan’s ride-hailing vehicles complied with regulations as of June, according to data from the transport ministry.
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The statement, published by the ministry on Friday, did not name Didi directly but the tone was tough compared with a statement in the wake of a March meeting, when the ministry said that it would like to strike a balance between “development” and “regulation”. According to the Friday statement, the priority is now “enhanced regulation and supervision”.
