An enraged shop owner wielding a knife chased an urban management officer, or chengguan, in the street after a dispute in Guangdong province.
The chopper-wielding man, who owns a tobacco shop in Foshan, was ordered to take down an unauthorised advertisement board by the officer, sparking a confrontation on Tuesday morning.
The owner grabbed the chopper and chased him for about 50 metres down a street before a patrolling police officer intervened and fired three warning shots.
The man was subdued and arrested for obstructing a law enforcement officer.
China's chengguan, much-loathed for their heavy-handed tactics, are in charge of keeping peddlers off the streets and removing illegal buildings, among other tasks.
Last November, four chengguan in Shaanxi were suspendended for dragging a street vendor into their vehicle and abandoning him 20 kilometres away in the countryside. The vendor had been selling brushes at the bus stop and ignored the officers' order for him to leave.