Market supervision and law enforcement departments in various regions have focused on rectifying four prominent categories of chaos: "fake certificates, fake institutions, fake products, and fake websites." So far, a total of 769 cases have been filed across the country, involving a total amount of 65.58 million yuan, of which 21 major cases have been transferred to judicial authorities for criminal liability.
Our reporter Wan Jing
Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation held a special press conference on "Joint Law Enforcement Action to Combat Counterfeiting and Clear Sources of Traditional Craft Markets." According to data disclosed by the State Administration for Market Regulation, market supervision and law enforcement departments in various regions have focused on rectifying four prominent categories of chaos: "fake certificates, fake institutions, fake products, and fake websites" (hereinafter referred to as the "four fakes"). So far, a total of 769 cases have been filed across the country, involving a total amount of 65.58 million yuan. Among them, 21 major cases have been transferred to judicial authorities for criminal liability. The "Joint Law Enforcement Action to Combat Counterfeiting and Clear Sources of Traditional Craft Markets" has made breakthrough progress.
"Four fakes" seriously disrupt market order
In recent years, the market for traditional handicrafts such as jewelry and jade, precious metal ornaments, and mahogany products has continued to heat up, but the "four fakes" chaos has also arisen. These chaos not only harm the vital interests of consumers, but also erode the credibility of the industry and disrupt the market order.
In April 2025, the Market Supervision Bureau of Donghai County, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, based on reports from the masses, conducted an on-site inspection of Bingyao Jewelry Store in Donghai County, and found a suspect on the spot who was delivering a false jewelry appraisal certificate, and transferred him to the public security agency in accordance with the law. After the Donghai County Public Security Bureau opened the case for investigation, it arrested 9 people including Jing Moumou on May 12, 2025, seized 5 computers and 4 plastic sealing machines on site, destroyed 3 counterfeit appraisal agency websites, extracted more than 450,000 pieces of website backend data, and confiscated 8,353 false certificates for finished products.
After investigation, from 2023 to 2025, Jing and others forged a large number of jewelry appraisal certificates with registered trademarks such as "NGTC" (National Jewelry and Jade Quality Inspection Center) and "China University of Geosciences", and successively built counterfeit appraisal agency websites. 8, selling more than 2.26 million fake "National Jewelry and Jade Quality Inspection Center" certificates and more than 60,000 fake "China University of Geosciences" certificates to more than 2,800 certificate purchasers, totaling more than 2.3 million certificates, with an illegal business amount of more than 1 million yuan. In June this year, the People's Court of Lianyungang Economic Development Zone made a judgment on the case in accordance with the law.
Zhang Leizhu, deputy director of the Accreditation and Testing Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that the "four counterfeiting" issues are intertwined, and counterfeiters are colluding with each other, forming a black and gray industrial chain that is organized into gangs of production and sales and integrates online and offline, seriously disrupting the order of the traditional craft market and harming the rights and interests of consumers and legitimate businesses.
According to Kuang Xu, Director of the Accreditation and Testing Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, market regulatory authorities in various regions have expanded complaint and reporting channels, conducted undercover investigations in 36 large professional markets, carried out 7,696 joint law enforcement inspections, collected 24,000 illegal clues, and carried out "targeted crackdowns" on counterfeiting and counterfeiting activities. Public security departments across various regions investigated 91 related criminal cases, including 47 cases of counterfeit production and sale, and took criminal coercive measures against 472 people; they simultaneously investigated and dealt with 67 fraud cases, and destroyed 106 illegal processing dens. The joint actions of the departments have truly achieved "investigation and punishment in one area, warning in one area, and standardization in one area."
At the same time, in response to the stubborn problem of counterfeit sales in emerging channels such as online stores, live streaming e-commerce, and short video delivery, regulatory authorities have provided administrative guidance to a number of key e-commerce platforms, clarifying rectification time limits and lists of responsibilities, and promoting the platforms to strictly implement their main responsibilities such as qualification review and dynamic inspections. Major platforms have proactively upgraded transaction rules, built intelligent audit models, optimized sensitive word interception strategies, improved quality inspection management processes, and implemented rapid closure of high-risk stores. The entire network has been monitored nearly 280,000 times, and 1,892 pieces of illegal information have been cleared.
Carry out targeted rectification against the "four falsehoods"
The reporter noticed that the “Joint Law Enforcement Action to ‘Anti-Counterfeit and Clear Sources’ of Traditional Craft Markets” focused on striking hard at the “four counterfeitings” issues that the masses had strongly complained about, and carried out targeted rectification.
Zhang Leizhu introduced that these prominent chaos specifically include: the proliferation of fake certificates. Some criminals have opened hidden black dens, forged test certificates in batches and sold them to merchants, and flowed into the market along with handicraft products in a "one-item-one-certificate" manner. These fake certificates do not have any certifying effect, but they put a bright "coat" on fake and inferior goods and deceive consumers.
Fake endorsements from fake organizations. Some intermediaries use the name of formal testing institutions, falsely claim to have obtained authoritative qualifications, and issue various fake certificates under the gimmicks of "no need to send samples" and "no inspection, guaranteed" to seek illegal benefits.
Fake products are substandard. Some unscrupulous merchants pass off synthetic materials as natural materials, pass off low-end products as high-end products, and pass them off as high-end products through rhetorical marketing, trolling, deliberate confusion, and fake scenes.
Fake website disguise. Some counterfeiting gangs set up fake websites without domain name registration and no real subject. Under the guise of being "available online," they provide so-called "verification" and "authenticity" services for fake certificates and institutions, deceiving the public.
In response to the "four fakes" problem, market supervision departments launched centralized rectification, joint law enforcement, and an integrated crackdown. Through complaints and reports, unannounced visits, on-site inspections, network monitoring and other means, market supervision departments at all levels keep a close eye on hidden locations such as black workshops, black dens and black intermediaries, dig deep into illegal clues, establish a ledger of problem clues and verify them one by one, and resolutely file cases and investigate suspected violations. Local market regulatory authorities collected 24,964 clues for reporting complaints through the 12315 platform and hotline. The China Quality Mile Promotion Promotion Association and the news media conducted unannounced visits to 36 professional markets across the country. The China Consumers Association investigated 7,125 jewelry complaint clues and discovered suspected violations in a timely manner.
Judging from the investigation, the current production and sale of counterfeit goods in the traditional craft market has evolved from a scattered individual behavior in the past to a black and gray industrial chain with clear division of labor and group operations, which is more concealed and more deceptive. This special operation broke away from the previous passive management model of "single point disposal, case investigation and handling" and established a full-chain closed-loop supervision and rectification working mechanism that integrated crackdowns on the production and sale of counterfeit goods and synchronized online and offline management.
Zhang Leizhu said that although the "cracking down on counterfeiting" has made breakthrough progress, there is no "rest" in "cracking down on counterfeiting", and "cleaning up the source" is only "ongoing". The market supervision department will keep a close eye on the new trends and new signs of the "four counterfeiting" issues, and will continue to maintain a high-pressure and deterrent posture with the determination and resilience to eliminate evil and attack when it emerges, continue to consolidate and deepen the effectiveness of the "cracking down on counterfeiting" work, and strive to create a more standardized and better market operating environment.
Weaving a dense and long-lasting supervision “system network”
The joint law enforcement action to “crack down on counterfeiting and clear up sources” in the traditional craft market has achieved initial results, but the pressure for long-term governance still exists.
Kuang Xu said: "After the recent rectification, we are deeply aware that illegal activities have become more covert, criminals are more dispersed, and illegal activities have shown new characteristics of 'underground' and 'decentralized'. In order to avoid crackdowns, some criminals have moved their counterfeiting and selling activities into hidden places, broken them into parts, and operated in a decentralized manner in an attempt to 'fight guerrillas and hide from the limelight.' There are even some merchants who have a lucky mentality of 'avoiding the limelight and coming out again.'"
In addition, the problems of "difficulty in obtaining evidence, consolidating evidence, and tracing sources" in online supervision still exist. At the same time, the synergy of comprehensive governance has not yet been fully formed, and there is still room for improvement in the coordination and linkage between departmental supervision, territorial management, industry self-discipline, and public opinion supervision. In the next step, in response to these problems, the market supervision department will focus on three aspects of work to promote the improvement of quality and efficiency of governance.
Build a solid foundation for the rule of law and weave a dense “system network” of long-term supervision. We will further deepen and expand working mechanisms such as clue investigation, case investigation and handling, execution linkage, exposure warnings, consumer education, and industry self-discipline, promote the revision and improvement of laws and regulations such as the Product Quality Law, E-commerce Law, and Certification and Accreditation Regulations, and accelerate the improvement of systems such as full-chain quality control, risk monitoring and handling, platform clue transfer for assistance, and false report issuers and users to be investigated and treated together.
Deepen diversified co-governance and polish the "golden brand" of traditional crafts. In areas with concentrated industries and transactions, we should actively build a multi-faceted governance structure featuring government supervision, corporate self-discipline, platform due diligence, social supervision, and public participation. With brand building as the core and quality improvement as the key, we will comprehensively use diversified means such as trademark cultivation, standard guidance, certification empowerment, and scene experience to promote traditional craftsmanship from "inheritance" to "dissemination", build reputation with quality, win the market with brand, and turn "time-honored brands" into "golden brands."
Strengthen platform management and control and promote online and offline "integration". Guide platform operators to make full use of technical means, optimize algorithms and early warning monitoring models, improve dynamic network inspection mechanisms, and increase efforts to identify, prevent, control and intercept online unqualified "fake institutions" and unauthorized "black intermediaries". Through strong online control, merchants on the platform are forced to operate in accordance with laws and regulations, and "online strictness" drives "offline solidity" to promote the formation of a pattern of online and offline collaborative governance, so that counterfeiters have nowhere to hide and consumers can buy with confidence.
Source: Rule of Law Daily
