"With the development of China's reform and opening-up, especially after China has become a WTO member, the number of foreign-related cases has been on the rise," said Xiao, president of the Supreme People's Court in his report on the work of the Supreme People's Court to the ongoing annual session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

In handling foreign-related cases, Xiao said, the Chinese courts have strictly applied laws of China, honor the international conventions, treaties and agreements to which China is a signatory party and exercised to the full the jurisdiction of courts, providing equal protection to the rights and interests of different parties litigant, said Xiao.

The Chinese courts have also paid close attention to cases involving intellectual property rights (IPR) including infringements of copyright, trademark right and patent right in the development of new plant species, commercial secrets, computer software and networks. They closed 23,636 such cases over the past five years, 40 percent more than in the previous five years, Xiao said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2003)