Ministry to step up effort to crack down on fake goods online

An advertisement for online shopping site Taobao.com of Alibaba Group is seen at a metro station in Shanghai, Nov 12, 2014. [Photo/IC]

China's Ministry of Commerce will step up its efforts to crack down on counterfeits and shady products in the nation's booming online market, a spokesman said on Thursday.

Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang told a news conference in Beijing that through cooperating with government and industrial organizations as well as enterprises, the ministry will strengthen its efforts to get rid of fake goods online and maintain healthy order in the market.

Shen's comment came a day after Taobao, the largest consumer-to-consumer online marketplace, filed a complaint against an official at a government watchdog.

Taobao, which is owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said in an open letter on Wednesday that is had been treated unfairly in a quality check by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

A report recently released by the SAIC showed that less than 40 percent of Taobao's products are authentic. Taobao questioned the objectiveness of the report and accusing the SAIC of abusing its power.

Shen said that the booming online shopping market in China not only created more job opportunities but also boosted consumption. During 2014, the ministry investigated and handled more than 11,000 cases involved with intellectual property rights violations.

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