Sneakers on a popular Chinese e-commerce platform look like Adidas, but are branded "Ababis". Underwear resembling Calvin Klein are called "Caiwen Kani". Toys with an uncanny resemblance to a certain blockbuster movie franchise opt for "Star Wnrs". As China held its massive annual
Sneakers on a popular Chinese e-commerce platform look like Adidas, but are branded “Ababis”. Underwear resembling Calvin Klein are called “Caiwen Kani”. Toys with an uncanny resemblance to a certain blockbuster movie franchise opt for “Star Wnrs”.
As China held its massive annual “Singles Day” online sales event on Sunday, shoppers could still find cheap imitations on Alibaba’s Taobao app despite the company’s efforts to curb sales of counterfeit goods.
U. S. and European companies have long complained about the theft of intellectual property in China, a central issue in the U. S.-China trade war.
President Xi Jinping renewed a pledge this week to protect IP rights, and a law is set to take effect on January 1 to punish e-commerce companies if fake goods are sold on their platforms.
But few moments of the year highlight the policing mountain authorities face quite like Singles Day — China’s equivalent to “Black Friday”.
AFP was able to find a veritable treasure trove of knockoffs on Taobao ahead of the November 11, or “Double 11”, shopping spree. During last year’s event, consumers spent a record $25 billion through Alibaba’s platforms.
According to the company, $10 billion had been generated in the first hour of this year’s sales. By 11 a.m., sales had hit $20.5 billion.
Almost every Chinese smartphone has a version of the Taobao app, making it one of the world’s largest online trading platforms with 634 million active monthly users.
While the majority of products sold are genuine, imitations abound.
A pair of “Ababis” trainers — with four instead of Adidas’ inimitable three stripes — retails at the mouth-watering price of only 39 yuan ($5.
