Now let's check the latest news from the country you claim does not have a Communist economy -
Joint venture cigarette factories ruled out
BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- China will not allow the establishment of new cigarette factories including foreign-funded ones, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) insisted Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference, administration spokesman Xing Wanli said "the country's current cigarette manufacturing capacity exceeds market demands, and the establishment of new cigarette factories will not be approved."
Xing's statement comes as especially bad news for British American Tobacco (BAT), according to Thursday's China Daily.
The global cigarette giant is currently lobbying local governments around China, trying to persuade them to approve the establishment of a joint venture company in China.
BAT even claimed last July that the Chinese government had approved the establishment of an 800-million-pound joint venture in the country. But this was strongly denied by the STMA.
Xing added that foreign firms will not be allowed into the nation's cigarette distribution sector either.
As cigarettes are classified as a special product, the industrywill continue to employ the monopoly system and cigarette sales will continue to be monopolized by the China Tobacco Co, added Xing.