BEIJING — China's top market regulator uncovered more than double the number of online trading violations in the first quarter compared with last year.

In total, 2,330 cases related to online goods sales and services were dealt with in the January-March period nationwide, surging 163.9 percent year-on-year, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said on Wednesday.

China has intensified efforts to regulate online business activities to protect the interests of netizens.

SAIC spokesperson Yu Fachang attributed the increase of such cases to ballooning instances of illegal online advertising and unfair competition.

The SAIC discovered and dealt with 64,000 economic crimes in the same period, decreasing 2.1 percent year-on-year, Yu said.

A combined amount of 800 million yuan (about $116 million) was involved in all these cases, representing a decline of 16.9 percent from a year earlier.