All parties must attack counterfeits

A large percentage of goods sold on Alibaba's Taobao platform are counterfeit, according to the results of a recent audit by China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC). In a tit-for-tat response, Alibaba quickly fired back with allegations that Liu Hong-liang, the SAIC official in charge of supervising the e-commerce business, had distorted the audit's findings.

Parties on both sides of the controversy make solid claims to support their views. The SAIC insists that its monitoring is necessary and says that it has already made adequate allowances for goods sold on Taobao. For its part, Taobao has skirted a direct confrontation with the SAIC, choosing instead to criticize Liu Hongliang personally.

Taobao shares the SAIC's goal of stamping out counterfeits, at least publicly. For the two sides in this particular fracas, resolving tensions should start with verifying objectively whether the SAIC's findings are accurate. The online platform operator should open its records to regulatory scrutiny. If businesses and administrators cannot work together amicably to eliminate fakes and knockoffs, alternative methods to fight such problems should be explored.