The market regulator of Jinxiu Yao autonomous county in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region announced on Tuesday that it has launched an investigation into a local company over suspected improper use of Chinese currency (RMB) designs on its bottled water product labels.
The Jinxiu county market supervision administration said it acted after receiving public reports regarding the packaging of "Jiatianxia Shange Quan" natural spring water, produced by Guangxi Xiuyao Shengshui Mineral Water Co Ltd. The product label is suspected of featuring patterns that closely resemble those on the 20-yuan RMB banknote.
The administration has collected label samples for expert assessment. The involved company has voluntarily suspended production and sales of the product and is cooperating with the investigation, according to the regulator. Further action will be taken based on the investigation findings.
The move came after social media users earlier pointed out that the water bottle's label depicted a landscape strikingly similar to the iconic Guilin scenery printed on the back of China's current 20-yuan note. The label also included a prominent reflective "20" numeral.
"Thought I'd picked up cash for a second. It looks just like the real thing," one netizen commented online.
When contacted by a reporter posing as a consumer on Monday, a staff member of the company stated the product was only sold offline in parts of Guangxi. The staffer described the label as "just an imitation" that "looks similar but is actually not the same". The numeral "20" was added because the product was previously priced at 20 yuan per item, the employee explained.
On the same day, the reporter relayed the case to the People's Bank of China (PBOC) Guangxi Branch. An official from the bank's currency department said the branch had not approved any such usage of RMB patterns by a water company, though the firm might have applied elsewhere. The official added that determining a violation of the RMB Pattern Use Management Measures requires further review.
The PBOC regulation prohibits the use of RMB patterns on daily-use goods without prior authorization from the central bank's local branches.