Amidst ongoing concerns about an undervalued yuan, growing Chinese military presence in the Pacific, and suspicions about Beijing-sponsored hacking into western computer networks, add this one to the list: China has been confirmed in its position as the world’s leading counterfeiting superpower.
According to a report recently released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime entitled “Transnational Organized Crime in East Asia and the Pacific,” from 2008 to 2010 almost 70% of all counterfeits seized globally come from China.
For the US, the figure is higher: US Customs say that in the same period 87% of the value of counterfeits seized originated in China. Since the WTO estimates that 2% of all world trade is incounterfeit goods, the value of counterfeit goods imported into the US and EU from East Asia (the bulk of which come from China) is thought to be on the order of $25 billion annually.
Source: Berin
