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THE MARKETS
Chinese consumers intended to spend 11 percent more to shop online during the holiday season at the end of 2011, according to a survey by Visa International.
They fork out an average of $822 in spending this year, the biggest increase among eight markets polled.
The figure is higher than the global average level of $701, said the credit card firm in the survey over 502 respondents in China.
A total of 4,033 consumers between 18 and 55 in eight markets in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Singapore and Australia, were covered in the survey.
The Chinese respondents said they plan to increase their online spending since they are able to enjoy merchant discounts and a wider choice.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in a recent report listed four Chinese markets as "notorious markets" known for pirated goods and services, including the Petty Commodities Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, Beijing's Silk Street Market, the C2C auction site Taobao.com,
as well as the search engine Sogou.com.
The list, however, has raised suspicions that the United States may be using the list to pressure Chinese companies.
"Some products in our market are low-end ones, but it does not mean that they are pirated goods," said Chen Jinlin, Secretary General of Yiwu Christmas Goods Industry Association.
"Many of our products have been a market hit in Western countries thanks to reliable quality and affordable prices," he said.
"If we produced counterfeit goods, I am sure the foreign clients would not have placed so many orders," he added.
Fang Xingdong, independent analyst and founder of Blogchina.com, said the United States should deal with such problem in an economic or legal way, instead of politicizing the problem. | 
