The State Development Planning Commission (SDPC) said Thursday that the telecommunications sector had witnessed a sharp drop in customer complaints about fees since last August, as all operators in China were required to tell customers what and how much was charged on services.

Telecommunications operators are not allowed to charge customers for what is not explicitly listed on price charts. Offenders will be punished and fined by pricing authorities under the government.

Minister in Charge of the SDPC Zeng Peiyan said the country had targeted unfair pricing in a move to level the field for market competition following WTO entry.

China has promulgated laws and regulations against pricing frauds and cheating. The regulations released on Jan. 1, 2002, listed 13 pricing practices as cheating.

In the first half of 2002, pricing authorities handled 4,251 cases of illegal pricing.

The SDPC said all hospitals had adopted transparent pricing systems, clearly listing the prices of all medical services and drugs.

The SDPC has also opened a hotline for complaints about pricing. More than 7,000 cases of excessive charges on educational services were reported and dealt with in the first half of 2002. According to the SDPC, since schools around the country began to publicize tuition fees and other charges in last autumn, excessive educational charges have been halted in many regions.

(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2003)