Chinese police destroyed £21 million of counterfeit designer goods today in a lavish publicity stunt aimed at showing the world they are cracking down on the illegal trade.

Fake wine, cigarettes, handbags and cosmetics were all thrown on a fire in Guiyang, southwest China’s Guizhou Province.

But authorities have a long way to go – a recent UN report revealed a staggering 75 per cent of all fake goods seized worldwide from 2008 to 2010 were primarily from China.

The UN report stated that counterfeit goods accounted for one third of the organised crime in East Asia and the Pacific is worth approximately $90bn (£58bn).

Most counterfeits fall into four categories: CDs and DVDs; accessories, watches and footwear; tobacco products; and textiles.

Last year an entire city in China literally shut up shop when nearly all of its stores closed after it was falsely reported that officials were planning a clampdown on the sale of counterfeit products.

Officials in Shenyang city were forced to beg store owners to reopen after 95 per cent of shops remain closed.

In November police arrested 73 people suspected of manufacturing and selling almost 1 million fake luxury bags in China.

The Ministry of Public Security said police seized more than 20,000 fake Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Coach bags and closed 37 sites where the forgery ring made or sold the bags.

Police said the ring sold more than 960,000 bags and exported many to the United States and Middle East.