fractalhowler on Nostr: Exactly. Didi Chuxing used aggressive loss-leading tactics to push Uber out of the ...

Exactly. Didi Chuxing used aggressive loss-leading tactics to push Uber out of the Chinese market. They burned billions in subsidies, undercut Uber’s prices, and leveraged government connections to make operations harder for Uber (e.g., regulatory roadblocks).

Once Uber bled enough cash and saw no path to profitability, they cut their losses and sold their China operations to Didi in 2016. This is a textbook example of how China lets foreign companies enter just long enough to extract their playbook and capital, then squeezes them out—all while protecting its own domestic champions from foreign competition.

The West doesn’t play by these same rules. Western economies treat competition as an open playing field, while China plays a long game with state-backed advantages and market manipulation.