China is to build a national big data center to help curb the prevalence of knockoffs on e-commerce sites, the country's top economic planner said on Wednesday.

A spokesperson from the National Development and Reform Commission confirmed the news to China Daily saying, "the government body will jointly build the center with the top quality watchdog —General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine."

The official said the two sides had inked an agreement in late December, but declined to offer more details.

The center is expected to help regulators better keep track of items sold online and root out fake products by leveraging cutting-edge big data technology.

Earlier this week, local media outlet National Business Daily reported the center will be built in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, the hometown of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ld.