At war with Alibaba: Top brands fight China e-commerce giant

SHANGHAI (AP) — Companies are complaining that Alibaba punished them after they refused to enter exclusive partnerships with the e-commerce giant.

Five major consumer brands tell the Associated Press that after they rebuffed Alibaba, traffic to their products fell, hurting online sales. Three are U.S. companies with billions in revenue that rely on China for growth.

Alibaba says it offers perks for exclusivity but has never punished anyone, calling allegations of coercion “completely false.”

At stake is rules-based access to a $610 billion online marketplace in China, as the Trump administration pushes to narrow America’s trade deficit.