Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has been lobbying to stay off a US blacklist for fakes after coming under renewed pressure this year over suspected counterfeits sold on its shopping platforms. Photo: Bloomberg
More than 40 percent of goods sold online in China last year were either counterfeits or of bad quality, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing an official report on implementation of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers.
Only 58.7 percent of items sold online last year were “genuine or of good quality”, said the report, which was submitted to the country’s top lawmakers on Monday.
The report called for “accelerated legislation in e-commerce, improved supervision and clarification of consumers’ rights and sellers’ responsibilities”, Reuters said.
It added these were needed due to the rapid emergence of online sales, which grew 40 percent last year to 2.8 trillion yuan (US$441.84 billion).
China has been trying to shake off a notoriety for pirated and counterfeit goods, long a major headache for global brands targeting the Chinese market from iPhone maker Apple Inc. to luxury retailer LVMH.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has been lobbying to stay off a US blacklist for fakes after coming under renewed pressure this year over suspected counterfeits sold on its shopping platforms.
China wants to boost protection for consumers online, where there is still a lot of uncertainty about how consumers can claim compensation or hold online vendors to account.
The report said customer complaints about online orders hit 77,800 last year, a steep jump of 356.6 percent from 2013.
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