Dishing out big changes: China's market leaders

In Beijing, it’s often cheaper to have food delivered than to get it yourself. Like, way cheaper. Abey Lin, a 19-year-old studying at Beijing Film Academy, uses his smartphone to order a local restaurant’s roast duck dish for 20 yuan (€2.60), about 80% less than it costs at the register, via delivery app Meituan.

He can get a 40% discount on two pizzas topped with golden potatoes and barbecued seafood. Meituan charges €1.30 for a bean curd dish from another shop, a little over a third of the price on the restaurant’s menu.