China continues to retain the dubious distinction of being the world’s largest source of counterfeit goods, according to the 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The report once again places China at the centre of the global trade in fake products, underscoring a problem that has persisted despite years of international pressure and enforcement actions.
The USTR review identifies 37 online and 32 physical markets worldwide that are known to engage in, or facilitate, large-scale trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. While these markets span 19 countries, the report makes clear that China remains the principal source of counterfeit goods entering global supply chains.
A Dominant Source of Global Counterfeits
According to the report, goods originating from China, including those routed through Hong Kong, accounted for nearly 93 per cent of the total value of counterfeit products seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in fiscal year 2024, measured by manufacturers’ suggested retail prices. The statistic highlights the overwhelming concentration of counterfeit manufacturing within China’s industrial ecosystem.
It is not a new development. China also topped the 2024 list, reflecting a structural issue that international enforcement mechanisms have struggled to curb. The persistence of the problem suggests that counterfeiting has become deeply embedded within segments of China’s manufacturing and distribution networks.
The USTR report notes that economic pressures within China have coincided with a rise in counterfeiting activity. Even as footfall declines in some traditional marketplaces, counterfeit vendors have adapted by using physical stores as showrooms or testing points, while fulfilling the bulk of orders through online channels.
Notorious Markets Still Active
The report identifies several prominent commercial hubs that remain major centres of large-scale counterfeit activity. These include the Baiyun Leather Trading Centre in Guangzhou, the Huaqiangbei Electronics Malls and Luohu Commercial City in Shenzhen, the Kinsun Market in Guangzhou, and the Wu’ai Market in Shenyang.
These locations serve as wholesale nodes in a global network that supplies counterfeit electronics, luxury goods, apparel, and accessories.
Global Supply Chains and Seizures
Recent enforcement actions illustrate the scale and persistence of the trade. In January this year, U.S. authorities intercepted counterfeit products valued at more than $300,000, including fake luxury items imitating brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton.
Other seizures during the past year have been even larger. Customs officials in Norfolk, Virginia, confiscated a shipment of counterfeit toys worth over $775,000, while officials in Louisville seized more than 2,000 pieces of fake jewellery originating from China and Hong Kong.
Such seizures represent only a fraction of the global counterfeit trade. Analysts note that the true scale of illicit manufacturing is likely far larger, with counterfeit goods flowing through complex shipping routes and online marketplaces before reaching consumers worldwide.
Counterfeiting and Strategic Concerns
Beyond commercial losses, counterfeiting is increasingly viewed as a strategic issue. Analysts argue that intellectual property theft and the manufacture of counterfeit products have helped accelerate China’s technological and industrial rise.
Commentary published in April 2025 by former U.S. Navy officer Stu Cvrk argued that intellectual property theft, often linked to the activities of the Chinese Communist Party, plays a role in strengthening both China’s economic base and its military modernisation.
Methods used to obtain foreign technology include economic espionage, cyber intrusions, and the replication of advanced products with dual-use applications, such as artificial intelligence, next-generation communications, and electronic surveillance systems.
Estimates cited in testimony before the U.S. Congress suggest that intellectual property theft linked to China costs the American economy up to $600 billion annually.
A Persistent Global Challenge
The USTR report also identifies other countries that host major counterfeit markets, including India, Mexico, Turkey, Vietnam, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates; however, it provides no approach to China’s scale or dominance in the production and distribution of fake goods.
Despite repeated pledges by Beijing to strengthen intellectual property enforcement, the latest findings indicate that China’s counterfeit ecosystem remains resilient and adaptive. As e-commerce platforms, logistics networks and global demand continue to expand, curbing the flow of fake products will likely remain a major challenge for regulators and governments worldwide.
Sun Lee is a pseudonym for a writer who covers Asia and geopolitical affairs.
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