Winners and losers

However, Zheng believes that while the customs administration stands to reap huge incomes from cracking down on smuggling, Chinese customers will be the ones who suffer.

Some Internet users tend to agree.

"The income of a mainlander is several times less than that of a Hong Kong resident, while prices of products are higher than in Hong Kong! It is the government that forces mainlanders to shop in Hong Kong," wrote the user of a Sina microblog named Xiaoban Wei.

Despite the crackdown, smuggled products can still be found in many cities around the country. In Zhongguancun, an area in Beijing crammed with shops selling electronic devices, these products are common.

"Business has become difficult since September, but people who have connections can still get the iPad without being taxed," one of the sellers there told the Global Times.

Lin Guijun, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, believes that curbing smuggling cannot be done by administrative measures alone.

"The more you crack down on smuggling, the more expensive things become, and the higher profit potential will encourage smugglers to figure out more ways to smuggle," Lin said.

Lin said the basic way to address the problem of smuggling was for the government to increase imports of foreign products.

Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Ministry of Commerce-run Chinese Academy of Interna-tional Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times that the price discrepan-cies are caused mainly by import tax, a tool used by the government to protect its domestic manufacturing industry.