US names China as leading place for fake goods

A Chinese expert has refuted an allegation by a U.S. report that China is the leading place for counterfeit goods, calling the accusation "baseless" trade protectionism.

Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that Chinese authorities have been cracking down on fake goods in recent years and have made significant progress.

The accusation came in the 2013 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets issued by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) last Wednesday, which singled out physical markets in China as key sources of counterfeit goods, including the Silk Market in Beijing and the Garment Wholesale Center in Guangzhou, which the USTR said were key contributors to counterfeiting in China and worldwide.

Buynow PC Malls, a chain of 22 personal computer malls across China, is a source of pirated movies, games, and software, according to the report.

The USTR said the Notorious Markets List for 2013 highlights markets that allegedly harm U.S. businesses and jobs by infringing on intellectual property rights.

China's Ministry of Public Security has reported that it seized 55,180 cases of fake goods involving 172.9 billion yuan (US$28.6 billion) in 2013. The ministry apprehended 59,222 criminal suspects in relation to the production and sale of fake goods in its year-long anti-counterfeiting operation.

In 2014, the ministry focused on counterfeiting crimes that jeopardize the public interest, including fake food, drugs, means of agricultural production, daily necessities and mechanical and electric goods.

"The authority of the report remains doubtful because it is not based on an inquiry of authorities," Bai said. "The United States may take trade protectionism measures by using a crackdown on fake goods as an excuse."

The United States has launched anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probes or made decisions of trade sanctions against 11 Chinese products this year.

"The high number of trade conflicts with China during such a short time is uncommon," said Wang Jian, research fellow at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. He attributed the increase in the number of trade frictions between the two countries to the fact that the United States is trying to protect its recovering manufacturing industries, saying that the United States also wants to put pressure on China to improve market access and allow the RMB to appreciate further through trade disputes.

Bai suggested that China should speed up the transformation of its pattern of foreign trade, improve the competitiveness of Chinese products, and actively respond to trade litigations to defend industrial safety and the legal rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.