China's People's Daily slams GlaxoSmithKline over bribery

China must crack down on commercial bribery by multinational firms, the country’s top state paper said on Wednesday, two days after police accused British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline of the widespread bribery of Chinese officials and doctors.

In a commentary, the People’s Daily newspaper accused some multinationals of using their market dominance to exploit gaps in regulatory systems in developing countries.

The article suggests Chinese authorities are not about to step back from a spate of investigations launched in recent months into how foreign companies do business in China, from the setting of prices to quality controls.

“A crackdown on commercial bribery by multinationals is deeply significant to safeguarding the order of the market economy and protecting an environment of fair competition,” said the commentary in the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party.

Chinese police on Monday accused GlaxoSmithKline of bribing officials and doctors to boost sales and raise the price of its medicines in China. Police said GSK transferred up to 3 billion yuan (HK$3.8 billion) to 700 travel agencies and consultancies over six years to facilitate the bribes.

In response, GSK said it was deeply concerned by the developments, which it called “shameful”.