JD.com Inc. founder Richard Liu vowed to speed an overseas foray and compete with Meituan in new arenas from food delivery to travel, describing his boldest attempt yet to revive an online retailer that’s languished since a 2020 government crackdown.

The past half-decade was the darkest period for his company, Liu said during a rare news conference at JD’s Beijing headquarters Tuesday. The company lost its way, the 52-year-old tech mogul said, at a time when rivals like PDD Holdings Inc. surged ahead. JD’s future growth should all be about leveraging a battle-tested logistics network in areas like meal delivery, where it’s making headway despite initial losses, the founder said.

Richard Liu in 2017.Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg

“For JD, it’s a lost five years, to put it bluntly,” Liu said in comments published in Chinese media, which a company spokesperson later confirmed.

“No innovation, no growth, no progress. It should be considered the most unremarkable and least-valuable five years in my entrepreneurial history,” Liu told reporters on the eve of JD’s signature June 18 shopping festival.

In March, JD made an aggressive entry into China’s $80 billion-plus food delivery market, a long-dormant arena controlled by Meituan and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Ele.me.

Liu personally handed out takeouts to customers during a publicity stunt, gave away 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in user subsidies, and promised above-industry benefits for his army of 100,000 delivery riders. His offensive has forced the two rivals to step up discounts and coupons in a similar fashion, a renewed price battle that quickly caught the attention of regulators.

About 40% of JD’s new food-delivery users have since converted into e-commerce customers, Liu said.