The Chinese government has granted special protection to the Walt Disney Company ahead of the US firm's theme park debut in Shanghai next year.

Chinese officials will carry out a year-long crackdown on unauthorised and counterfeit Disney properties as part of a wider effort to address concerns that Chinese knock-offs are damaging the county's reputation.

"This will promote the development of a fair and competitive market, and protect China's international image for safeguarding intellectual property rights," said a statement from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), adding that the "special operation" would run until October 2016.

According to recent statistics, more than 40 per cent of goods sold online in China in 2014 were either counterfeit or of poor quality.

Disney, which is opening a US$5.5bn (€5.1bn, £3.6bn) theme park in China in the first half of 2016, hopes to maintain the integrity of its identity ahead of the move, and the recent ruling by China's government will help secure that. China has worked hard to be accommodating towards the company, recently closing down more than 150 industrial sites heavily polluting the atmosphere near the under-development theme park as officials start to establish a tourism zone in the area.