China has made progress in intellectual property rights (IPR)
protection and expects understanding and cooperation from its
trading partners, a senior commerce official said yesterday.
"The resources China has devoted to IPR protection are
unprecedented," Vice-Commerce Minister Ma Xiuhong said yesterday at
an international forum on IPR and innovation in Beijing. "It shows
China's resolve in IPR protection."
The conference is co-sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce and
the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
China has not only established a complete legal system on IPR
protection, but also strengthened exchanges and cooperation with
the United States and the European Union, she said.
Ma said China acknowledges that the IPR issue is a significant
challenge for both developing and developed countries and the
Chinese government is ready to further cooperation with other
countries.
"But an IPR protection system cannot be completed overnight," Ma
noted. "In China, a developing country of 1.3 billion people, it
requires joint efforts from the governments, businesses and
consumers."
Jon W. Dudas, the US Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property, said China's national strategy on IPR
protection is "impressive and future-sighted" and added he is
"eager to continue the discussion with China and better understand
the strategy".
He said the two countries should work together to deal with
trademark applications.
On a separate occasion, Dudas said while China was moving in the
right direction with better law enforcement and the political will
to act, it still needed to deliver on its promises.
"Even two years ago I don't think we had the full partnership
that we have today between the United States and China. Nothing but
reasons for optimism," he said.
"But the real result is when we see the level of piracy and
counterfeiting come down," said Dudas.
Frank Lavin, another US Under Secretary of Commerce, said "the
IPR issue is one of the most important issues in Sino-US
trade".
He said the Chinese government must improve in a number of
sectors, such as transparency in forming the 3G (third generation)
standard, IPR protection in the pharmaceutical sector as well as
the fight against counterfeiting in software and entertainment.
(China Daily March 29, 2007))