China, Alibaba face off over fakes

Associated Press

BEIJING

There’s a tiger fight going on in China.

Regulators on Wednesday issued a scathing report against one of the country’s biggest stars, accusing e-commerce giant Alibaba of failing to do enough to prevent fake goods from being sold on its websites. Uncowed, Alibaba fired back with charges of bias and misconduct by a named Chinese official. Such public defiance is almost unheard of in China.

Wednesday’s report was the first time China has criticized one of its own, particularly a leading star.