Yao Jian, the spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, yesterday responsed commerce department statistics that revealed Chinese consumers were paying over 50% more than American consumers and 72% more than French consumers for 20 brands of products such as watches, luggage, clothing, alcohol and electronic appliances. Yao Jian said that the situation of domestic consumers paying higher prices than overseas buyers was limited to luxury or high-end products and that the high prices were partly due to pricing strategies of these multinational companies, the rarity of these products in the Chinese market and also the various taxes imposed on these products including customs tax and consumption tax, both help to push retail prices higher.

Source
China News Agency

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