China’s market regulators step up crackdown on illegal pricing, sales of medicines, COVID test kits
A local resident is buying medicine for cough in a pharmacy in Tianjin on December 6, 2022. Photo: VCG
Market regulators across China’s cities have initiated inspections targeting medicine, speculation regarding self-testing kits and illicit sales amid a surge in market demand.
The regulator for Beijing’s Haidian district on Tuesday unveiled a case involving dubious pricing of COVID-19 antigen self-testing kits, and said the company responsible would be fined 300,000 yuan ($42,975.63), local media outlet bjnews.com reported.
In Jiujiang, East China’s Jiangxi Province, the local market regulator inspected a pharmacy that had raised the price of Chinese herbal medicine Lianhua Qingwen. Since December 5, the pharmacy had put the price up from 27.8 yuan to 58.5 yuan for each box. The pharmacy restored the normal price after receiving a notice from the regulator, thepaper.cn reported on Tuesday.
The report also mentioned that the market regulator in Shenyang, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province unveiled an illicit packed sale case, in which a pharmacy forced consumers to buy COVID-19 antigen self-testing kits alongside vitamin C tablet products costing 88 yuan.
A pharmacy in Siping, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, overstocked 631 boxes of Lianhua Qingwen and suspended sales without proper reasons, which was also rectified by local market authorities, said the report.
Global Times
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