SHANGHAI, May 16 (Reuters) - Corruption charges againstBritish drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc in China are a"warning" to other foreign firms operating in the country thatunethical behaviour will be punished, according to a commentaryfrom the official Xinhua news agency on Friday.
Chinese police charged on Wednesday the British former Chinahead of GSK and other colleagues with corruption, after a probefound the firm made billions of yuan from bribing doctors andhospitals.
"The case is a warning to other multinationals in China thatethics matter ... GSK's practices eroded its corporate integrityand could cause irreparable damage to the company in China andelsewhere," the Xinhua commentary said.
Xinhua is China's official news agency and its commentariesare often seen as reflective of the government's thinking. (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Kazunori Takada)