French fashion retailer Pierre Cardin said it has scored a symbolic victory against China's prolific counterfeiters after successfully closing down a showcase of Chinese Cardin fakes.

The closure by Industry and Commerce Bureau investigators of a stand at the International Clothing and Accessories Fair in Beijing was unprecedented in the event's 12-year history, organisers said.

The Chinese firm “Italy Pierre Cardin", which uses a logo nearly identical to their authentic namesake on its clothing and advertisements, had been flouting an earlier trading ban, Pierre Cardin officials said.

“After we filed a lawsuit, the Italy Pierre Cardin company, registered in Hong Kong, should have ceased its activities. That did not prevent them from continuing to sell and showcase in China,” said Song Huaigui, Pierre Cardin's director general in China.

As a member of the World Trade Organisation since December 2001, China has pledged to tackle rampant counterfeiting, but efforts so far have done little to dent the country's enormous fake goods industry.

China manufactures at least 70% of the world's counterfeit goods according to studies by foreign experts.