Chinese vent fury online after e-commerce player JD.com sends staff to gov't bureau to handle complaints against it

Chinese e-commerce powerhouse JD.com has reportedly stationed employees at the Beijing Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce (BAIC) to assist with complaints filed by customers against it, Chinese media reported on Thursday.

The issue surfaced amid claims that some of its staff members were "impersonating" bureau employees to deal with complaints lodged against the site. The rumours first appeared on Chinese microblogging site Weibo, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

After the matter was brought to light by Weibo user Wang Hai it sparked outrage online from netizens, many of whom described JD's actions as inappropriate.

“If I am making a complaint to [a government] bureau, and JD.com handles it directly, then what is the point of me lodging it in the first place?” asked one Weibo user.

BAIC deputy director Lin Shutao later told reporters that the three employees of the e-commerce site at the bureau were just acting as liasons between the two.

According to Lin, the practice is not unprecedented. Lin even suggested it may be a common practice for e-commerce sites in China to assist in this way if the volume of complaints against them starts to put a strain on the system.