3M China Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the US-based multinational corporation 3M, has been fined 360,000 yuan ($56,000) for engaging in false or misleading commercial advertising, according to an administrative penalty decision published on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System website. The main violations of the company include false advertising, producing substandard products and overcharging customers.

The Xuhui District Market Supervision Administration of Shanghai imposed the penalty on the company based on Article 20 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of China, which prohibits false or misleading commercial advertising that deceives or misleads consumers. The administration ordered the company to confiscate the illegal income of 8,947.6 yuan ($1,390), pay a fine of 363,548.6 yuan ($56,500), stop the illegal activities, correct them and stop production. The penalty decision date was January 18, 2023.

According to Tianyancha, a business information platform, 3M China Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (China) Investment Co., Ltd., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M Hong Kong Limited.

The official website of 3M shows that 3M was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. For more than 100 years, 3M has developed more than 60,000 products, ranging from household goods to medical products, and covering various fields such as transportation, construction, business, education and electronics and communications. 3M China was registered in China in November 1984 and was the first wholly foreign-owned enterprise established outside the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. As of now, 3M has established nine production bases, 20 offices, four technical centers and one research and development center in China, with nearly 8,000 employees.

Article 20 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of China stipulates: “If an operator violates the provisions of Article 8 of this law and makes false or misleading commercial advertising for its products or services, or helps other operators make false or misleading commercial advertising by organizing false transactions or other means, the supervision and inspection department shall order it to stop the illegal activities and impose a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than one million yuan; if the circumstances are serious, it shall impose a fine of not less than one million yuan but not more than two million yuan and may revoke its business license. If an operator violates the provisions of Article 8 of this law and constitutes false advertising, it shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China.”