Labour urged to investigate Chinese retailer’s UK expansion
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Labour urged to investigate Chinese retailer’s UK expansion Ben Marlow Sun, 28 June 2026 at 10:18 am GMT-4 4 min read 9618.HK CURY.L AMZN Ministers have been urged to copy Brussels and open an investigation into Chinese retail giant JD.com because of fears its UK expansion poses an unfair threat to the struggling high street. Alicia Kearns, the shadow national security minister, said suspicions that the "greedy" online retail giant – called "China's Amazon" – has been the beneficiary of Chinese state subsidies needed to be taken seriously after recently launching in Britain under the Joybuy brand. JD.com has also looked at takeover bids for both Currys and Argos, and been linked with an impending swoop on Very Group, which until recently was part of the Barclay brothers' business empire. Ms Kearns' intervention comes after the European Commission began an in-depth inquiry into whether the firm has been the recipient of foreign subsidies that have distorted the EU internal market, including "financing, tax incentives and grants" from China. The move was prompted by JD.com's €2.2bn (£1.9bn) bid for German electronic retailer Ceconomy. Ms Kearns said: "JD.com is already under investigation by the EU, and has now turned its greedy gaze to our shores, eyeing up acquisitions of Argos and the Very Group. "It is fundamentally unfair to expect British and other companies to compete with Chinese groups receiving subsidies which would be illegal in Europe." Ms Kearns, who was previously chair of the foreign affairs committee, called for JD.com's expansion plans to be "thoroughly scrutinised by Parliament and relevant bodies" and "if necessary for our economic security, blocked". The shadow national security minister added: "The Chinese Communist Party has long used unprecedented state subsidies to boost its economic influence, with the aim of establishing dominance and relegating Britain into a state of dependency. "It does not fund such takeovers out of benevolence. They are a calculated strategy designed to further Chinese economic power and erode our own sovereign markets." Her concerns are echoed by Luke de Pulford, the founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, who wants to see a clampdown on tax loopholes that hand Chinese firms an unfair advantage over their British rivals. Current tax rules mean overseas retailers can send packages worth less than £135, often called "de minimis" imports, to the UK without paying customs duties. The Government has announced it is bringing forward plans to close the loophole, but major high-street brands have dismissed the timeframe as still "unacceptable". The reforms, which were scheduled to be introduced in 2029, will now be implemented in October 2028, the Treasury said last week. "UK businesses cannot compete with a Chinese state subsidised attempt to exploit import thresholds. In allowing shelves to fill up with cheap Chinese goods, we have opened the door to the defenestration of our own high street and industry," Mr de Pulford said. "The Government must defend UK businesses from unfair competition orchestrated by a state which would happily wipe them out." Large retailers including Next, Sainsbury's and Currys have publicly called for an overhaul of the tax regime. The rules apply to goods ordered by UK customers on the main JD.com website and shipped from China , but not those bought through the Joybuy platform because they come from warehouses in Milton Keynes and Luton. Joybuy has already hired 1,000 workers in the UK, including a team of self-employed delivery drivers. Richard Qiangdong Liu, the founder of JD.com, has been nicknamed "China's Jeff Bezos". A spokesman for JD.com said: "As we have clarified with the European Commission, the proposed acquisition of Ceconomy by JD.com will not be financed by any foreign subsidies granted by China or any other non-EU member state, but instead is funded by external private bank debt and available cash from ordinary course business activities." The spokesman added: "At a time of cost of living pressures, Joybuy is offering great value, trusted brands and fast, same-day delivery to more than 17 million Brits."
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