Alibaba and Tencent sites added to US Notorious Markets List

The US has added sites operated by Chinese technology giants Alibaba and Tencent to its "Notorious Markets List" of businesses it believes are involved with trading counterfeit goods.

The list identifies 42 online sites and 35 physical stores, including e-commerce platforms, run by the firms.

The US trade agency says they "engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright privacy".

America and China are in a long-running dispute over trade and technology.
"The global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods undermines critical US innovation and creativity and harms American workers," US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said its list had for the first time included AliExpress and WeChat e-commerce sites. AliExpress is owned by Alibaba and WeChat is operated by Tencent.

It called the sites "two significant China-based online markets that reportedly facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting".

"We strongly disagree with the decision made by the United States Trade Representative and are committed to working collaboratively to resolve this matter," a spokesperson of Tencent told the BBC.