Beijing lashed out at the European Union after the latter fined AliExpress, the largest Chinese e-commerce platform in the bloc, more than half a billion euros over the uncurbed sale of counterfeit goods on its site.
China‘s Ministry of Commerce issued a statement on Wednesday, voicing its “strong dissatisfaction and serious concern” over the decision of the European Commission to fine the company 550 million euros (over $627 million) under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
“China firmly opposes the EU’s moves to erect digital barriers under the guise of platform regulation and adopt discriminatory measures to restrict and suppress the normal operations of Chinese e-commerce companies in Europe,” a spokesperson for the ministry said.
The statement was posted on the official website of the State Council Information Office of China (SCIO), the chief information office of the Chinese government.
“China will firmly support Chinese companies in safeguarding their rights via legal means and will take solid steps to protect their legitimate interests,” the statement added, urging the EU to “stop abusing its discretionary power through legal ambiguities.”
The European Commission previously said AliExpress breached its obligations under the DSA, which required it to diligently assess and mitigate the risks of counterfeits.
For example, the commission said the company failed to see how its own recommender and advertising systems had the propensity to “exacerbate the spread of illegal products.” The commission also said that the penalties against erring traders were not properly enforced, which allowed them to remain active even after the fact.
“The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online—it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act,” said EU’s Tech Chief Henna Virkkunen previously.
All these added up to the largest fine the commission has charged a company under the DSA since the law took effect in 2023. This also marks the second Chinese company this year to be fined, following Temu, which the Commission fined with 200 million euros last May.
Chinese ultra-fast fashion Shein is also under investigation for potentially breaching the DSA, with the commission focusing on three areas: the sale of illegal products including child-like sex dolls, which could constitute child sexual abuse material; its addictive design, which rewards consumers for engagement; and the transparency of its algorithms.
