Direct-selling firms lobby China Company executives gather in Beijing to tackle direct selling.

(From South China Morning Post)

Byline: Mark O'Neill in Shanghai

Direct selling may have been banned by the central government in 1998, but this did not stop the likes of Amway and Avon, two of the world's leaders in door-to-door sales, from selling 12.4 billion yuan worth of goods in China last year.

Amway, which specialises in personal, home care and nutrition products, has 160,000 salespeople in China, making it one of the biggest employers in the mainland. Its sales last year amounted to 10 billion yuan - 20 per cent of its global revenue - making China its single largest market, ahead of the United States.

Under its obligations to the …