End to endorsing famous brand removes govt hands from market

IN AN INTERVIEW with the China Central Television last week, Zhang Mao, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that the administration has stopped the evaluation and appraisal of so-called famous trademarks and brands. Yanzhao Metropolis Daily comments:

The long-awaited reform marks another step forward to reduce the government's interference with market activities. The government now only operates a blacklist of enterprises with bad credit records.

The shortcomings of the government-organized trademark and brand evaluation are obvious. The government's endorsement of certain brands is risky as it directly bundles the government's credit with that of the companies concerned, which is absolutely unnecessary in a market economy as the market can tell which brands are popular.