‘Designated drinker’ app helps seal deals in China’s boozy business culture

When it comes to doing business in China, baijiu and heavy drinking is often part of the deal.

Edaijia, an Uber-like service that offers on-call designated drivers to get drunken dealmakers (and their cars) home safely, has expanded services to include hiring out “designated drinkers,” Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The app is hooking up users seeking to keep their head in the game with boozing bodyguards to take the obligatory shots of alcohol at meetings with clients and other business-related events.

Offered in 36 Chinese cities, the app lists designated drinkers by “alcohol tolerance level.”

For example, profile “buhuileiderensheng” boasts the ability to drink “a full keg of beer, at least three boxes of red wine or 1.5 liters of baijiu.”

While the practice of businesses enlisting heavyweight drinkers to help facilitate deals is commonplace, the service has raised liability concerns among law experts.

“Edaijia has to supervise what occurs while providing a designated drinker service,” lawyer Chang Sha told the paper.