What is Meituan and how to get started

Meituan, also known as Meituan-Dianping, 美团, 美团点评, is a leading Chinese O2O (online-to-offline) local life service platform best-known for its on-demand food delivery service.

By the 21YunBox Compliance Team·Reviewed 2026-10-07·Verified against primary sources

What does a foreign company need to become a merchant on Meituan in China?

The gate is a China business license and a licensed local presence — not a merchant sign-up. A Meituan storefront is a locally registered, on-the-ground business, so a foreign company almost always needs a mainland entity (a WFOE or joint venture) or a licensed local partner before it can onboard at all.

Meituan verifies every merchant against a Chinese business license and the category qualifications your line of business requires — for a restaurant or any food seller, a food business license and a real, licensed storefront. China's E-Commerce Law makes the platform collect and verify your identity, registration and permits before you can trade (Article 27), and the online-catering food-safety rules in force since 2026-06-01 make Meituan substantively examine your food license and cross-check it against the provincial regulator's records. The customer and order data you then handle is personal information governed by the PIPL. The guide below walks through the onboarding steps; what decides whether a foreign company can take them is the entity and the licenses standing behind the account.

Treat this as a risk map to work through with counsel, not a verdict — the right structure turns on your entity, your category and the data you collect. Our China team can map your path with you →

What a foreign company must clear to sell on Meituan

Fact	Primary source
Onboarding starts with a Chinese business license, which only a mainland-registered entity can hold. China's E-Commerce Law provides that "E-commerce operators shall complete business registration in accordance with law," with narrow exemptions for cases like individuals selling self-produced farm produce or occasional, low-value sales (Article 10). A Chinese business license (营业执照) is issued only to a market entity registered in the mainland, so a foreign company typically reaches Meituan through a WFOE, a joint venture, or a licensed local partner or entity-of-record — Harris Sliwoski's China Law Blog notes foreign retailers have gone onto Chinese marketplaces "through a Chinese distributor or subsidiary." Confirm the structure that fits your case with counsel.	E-Commerce Law of the PRC (2018), Article 10 — official English text, China Daily / NPC, retrieved 2026-10-07; Harris Sliwoski LLP, China Law Blog, retrieved 2026-10-07
Meituan must verify who you are and the permits you hold before you can trade — a legal duty, not a formality. Under the E-Commerce Law, a platform operator "shall request the business operators applying for selling goods or providing services on their platforms to submit authentic information about their identity, address, contact, and administrative permit, verify and record such information, establish register files, and regularly verify and update the files" (Article 27). That is why Meituan asks for a business license, real-name identity and category qualifications at settlement — and why a thin or mismatched filing stalls or loses the account.	E-Commerce Law of the PRC (2018), Article 27 — official English text, China Daily / NPC, retrieved 2026-10-07 (penalty cross-reference confirmed at Article 80)
For food delivery — Meituan's core — you need a food business license and a real, licensed storefront, and the platform now examines both substantively. China's national online-catering food-safety regulation (State Administration for Market Regulation Order No. 123, effective 2026-06-01) requires an online catering merchant to run from a physical store, lawfully hold a food business license (食品经营许可) and other operating qualifications, and operate at the address shown on its certificate (Article 22). The platform must real-name register each merchant and substantively examine the food business license — including by on-site inspection — then cross-check it against the provincial market regulator's records and bar merchants whose qualifications do not match (Article 10). Meituan's non-food categories (hotels, attractions, local retail) carry their own category permits.	SAMR Order No. 123 — online-catering food-safety supervision regulation, effective 2026-06-01; gov.cn gazette, Articles 22 and 10, retrieved 2026-10-07
The customer and order data you handle through Meituan is personal information under China's PIPL. Names, phone numbers, delivery addresses and order histories are personal information; if any of it is handled or accessed from outside the mainland, that is a cross-border transfer under the PIPL — requiring notice, separate consent and a lawful transfer mechanism (Articles 38–39). A critical-information-infrastructure operator or a large-volume handler must additionally store the personal information it collects in China (Cybersecurity Law Article 39 (formerly Article 37) — renumbered from the 2016 Article 37, effective 2026-01-01; PIPL Article 40). Your exact duties turn on your role and data volumes — a point to settle with counsel.	Personal Information Protection Law (effective 2021-11-01), Articles 38–40; Cybersecurity Law Article 39 (formerly Article 37) (amended CSL, effective 2026-01-01); 21YunBox cross-border data transfer explainer, retrieved 2026-10-07

Sources verified by the 21YunBox compliance team on 2026-10-07.

About Meituan

Meituan, also known as Meituan-Dianping, 美团, 美团点评, is a leading Chinese O2O (online-to-offline) local life service platform with a market share of 62%, connecting over 240 million consumers and 5 million local merchants.

Meituan & Dianping were two separate entities until 2015 - the prior focused on food delivery, and the latter on restaurant reviews. Meituan-Dianping has since become an all-in-one Super App, providing third-party services in hotels, local attractions, movies, entertainment, etc.

How To Get Started On Meituan

If you are in the food, entertainment, or tourism-related businesses, Meituan is a must for you to reach local Chinese customers based on cities.

To get started, create an account here, and select your category accordingly.

Then submit your business information, including your business license, payment information, ID card, the number of your contact person, and a photo of your storefront (if applicable).

Wait for Meituan’s verification which typically takes 1 to 3 business days.

Cost To Sell On Meituan

Meituan charges a commission per transaction depending on the category of your business. You can also pay for add-on marketing services, such as pay-per-click ads, free giveaways, etc., to help you attract more customers.

Different formats of marketing promotions on Meituan

Do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese phone number or Chinese ID? We can help!

If you do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese ID, or Chinese phone number, which is essential to get started on Meituan, 21YunBox is here to help.

We can provide the necessary supporting documents to get started on Meituan and walk you through the process. Meanwhile, we will also bring your company, product, and service into full compliance with Chinese law.