HONG KONG -- When China's business regulator accused Alibaba Group Holding of selling counterfeit goods over the internet in a report five years ago, the e-commerce giant did not hesitate to fight back.
Alibaba openly challenged the investigation results, filing a formal complaint against a sub-department head responsible for the probe. Then, after a week-long public brawl, in which the company lambasted the State Administration for Industry and Commerce official as "irrational" and "biased," the dispute ended with the regulator retracting the report.
