Counterfeited in China: New Book Assesses State of Industry and Its Future
Counterfeiting tops the list of organized crimes committed worldwide, raking in nearly half a trillion dollars in 2019. These illicit businesses impact consumers, workers, brand owners, state authorities, and the overall economy. For example, counterfeit luxury goods like handbags and watches are commonly sold to unsuspecting consumers and divert revenue from legitimate producers. Moreover, the proliferation of counterfeiting has fueled the advancement of other types of organized crimes, such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, and money laundering. In a new book, a Rutgers University professor investigates this lucrative underground industry and its emergence in China, the global capital of counterfeit manufacturing.
"I interviewed counterfeiters—business owners, workers, facilitators, and key informants—in the hub of Guangzhou to uncover how they design, produce, and distribute fake and unauthorized luxury goods and how they manage the risks inherent in their business," says author Ko-Lin Chin, professor of criminal justice at Rutgers School of Criminal Justice.
In Counterfeited in China: The Operations of Illicit Businesses, Chin offers new insights into the modus operandi of counterfeiters. He examines the individual and group characteristics of counterfeiters and their relationships with organized crime; analyzes the economic aspects of counterfeiting; assesses the relationships among counterfeiting, violence, and corruption; and seeks to understand the demand for counterfeit goods. He also discusses the role of Chinese authorities and other parties in the war against counterfeiting.
"Counterfeiting is a serious crime," notes Chin. "Despite advances in security and detection, it continues to have far-reaching effects on economies, businesses, and people. Efforts to combat this crime must involve understanding how and why counterfeiters operate."
Chin is also the co-author of The Chinese Heroin Trade: Cross-Border Drug Trafficking inSoutheast Asia and Beyond and Selling Sex Overseas: Chinese Women and the Realities of Prostitution and Global Sex Trafficking. He is the author of The Golden Triangle: Inside Southeast Asia's Drug Trade, and Smuggled Chinese: Clandestine Immigration to the United States.
More information:
Summarized from the book, Counterfeited in China: The Operations of Illicit Businesses, by Chin, K-L (Rutgers University-Newark). Copyright 2025 Temple University Press. All rights reserved.
Provided by Rutgers University Newark School of Criminal Justice
