GUANGZHOU - China-Africa Commercial Plaza, once a symbolic building for Sino-African trade in this Guangdong provincial capital, has been required to halt its business following an investigation into the sale of fake products.

According to a press release from the Guangzhou Anti-Fake Product Office, the city government is studying the possibility of shutting down the 10-story commercial building in a step aimed at preventing the southern city's image from being further damaged.

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The plaza's signboard, written in both Chinese and English, has been removed.

"The plaza has stopped business since Feb 20, when the local industrial and commercial administration launched a campaign to investigate counterfeit products in the plaza," a security guard there said on Tuesday.

"It's still unknown when the plaza will reopen to business," the guard, who did not want to be named, told China Daily.

According to sources from the Guangzhou Anti-Fake Product Office, authorities investigated and seized more than 7,600 products, including watches, garments, bags, sneakers, perfumes, cell phones, notebook computers and small household appliances. The fake brand names discovered included Rolex, Rado, Citizen, Swatch, LV, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Dior, Polo, Nokia, Sony, Burberry and Apple.

Investigators looked into the sales of the counterfeit products on Feb 20 and 21. Fourteen stores in the plaza were believed to have infringed intellectual property rights and to have sold fake products on those days.

Another three shops in Shunzhao Commercial Plaza, which is situated next to the China-Africa Commercial Plaza, were also investigated after being accused of violating intellectual property rights and selling counterfeits. Like the China-Africa Commercial Plaza, the Shunzhao plaza was ordered to cease its business until it could undergo reforms.

During the inspections, law enforcement officers had to force their way into stores that refused to allow their products to be inspected, authorities said.

Chen Changwen, a Guangzhou resident living near the China-Africa Commercial Plaza, said the site used to be home to a lively market.

"But the plaza should be closed if law enforcement personnel have discovered stores there sell fake products, or have been involved in other illegal actions, or if (the sales) would damage Guangzhou's reputation," Chen said.

Despite the halt of business, city authorities promise to not slacken their work to eradicate counterfeit products in coming months.

The city's Yuexiu industrial and commercial administration plans to campaign against counterfeits that might be in circulation in nearby commercial plazas and buildings situated in the district's Xiaobei area, where a large number of African people do business.

Late last month, the Ministry of Commerce joined with eight Chinese export associations to fight counterfeits and protect intellectual property rights, all in the hope of preventing counterfeit products from being sold to Africa.

Meanwhile, eight places that export large quantities of goods, including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces, have been ordered by the Ministry of Commerce to set out specific plans to crack down on the sale of pirated and counterfeit products to African nations.

China has become the biggest trade partner of Africa, while the African continent is 4th in the order of places that receive the largest portions of China's overseas investments.