SHANGHAI, May 27 Reuters As Starbucks faces stiff competition for its brew in China from fastgrowing, lowcost rivals who have chipped into its market share, the coffee chain is increasingly being dragged into a price war it says it wants to avoid.

The stakes are high for Starbucks, which has come under growing pressure from investors recently due to weaker sales in its two biggest markets the United States and China.

While the Seattlebased company has got its work cut out in the world39;s secondbiggest economy, where its rival Luckin Coffee pipped it to the top spot on annual sales for the first time in 2023, management is convinced it does not need to get into a race to the bottom on prices.

We are not interested in entering the price war, Starbucks39; China CEO Belinda Wong said in January. We are focusing on capturing high quality but profitable, sustainable growth. Those sentiments were repeated by founder Howard Schultz on a visit to Shanghai in March.

However, analysts, Reuters checks and Chinese consumers posting on social media point to an increase in discount coupons being offered by Starbucks through its own miniprograms, as well as via the coffeemaker39;s livestreams on Douyin, and thirdparty delivery platforms popular for ordering coffee.

In effect, Starbucks has made it relatively easy for Chinese consumers to buy its most commonly ordered coffees with 30 discounts or twoforone coupons without dropping their listed prices, sliding down a slippery…