The notice was jointly issued by several Chinese central organizations, including the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Economic and Trade Commission, and State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

The notice calls on the departments concerned at all levels across China to carry out a nationwide campaign against the sale of counterfeit goods, entitled "100 Cities and 10,000 shops Free from Counterfeit Goods".

This campaign, which was initiated several years ago, has been regarded as an effective way to curb the sale of fake goods.

The notice says that more model streets, which are free from the sale of counterfeit goods, should be developed, and the 4th group of model streets will be ratified before March 15 this year, the "Consumers' Day" of China.

The notice also emphasizes that the departments concerned should not only fight against the sale of counterfeit goods in stores, but also work to stamp out the sale of fake goods in all other sectors, and to achieve this goal as soon as possible.

China has made great efforts to crack down the sale of counterfeit goods over the past year. The national coordination team for countering counterfeit goods today publicized nine key cases involving firms using low-quality cotton to cheat customers, and these firms are expected to be severely punished.

The departments concerned must take measures to ensure that farmers get quality daily necessities and farming commodities during the Spring Festival, the notice also stresses.

(Xinhua 01/04/2001)