GUANGZHOU: China should do more to protect intellectual property in order to encourage more investment from companies in the United States and boost innovation of Chinese enterprises, US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said yesterday.

Speaking at a forum on innovation and intellectual property in the southern city of Guangzhou, Locke also praised China's progress in terms of the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the past few years.

"China has taken several steps in the past to protect the IPR of the US and other foreign companies operating in the country," he said.

Locke sounded a measured call for China to strengthen enforcement of intellectual property, which he said was essential for China as it upgrades its industrial base and puts greater emphasis on research and development and innovation.

After years of rapid industrial development, China has to develop more entrepreneurs who sell high-value and high-tech products in the world, he said.

"If China is going to make this transition, it will have to create a system of laws and a regulatory infrastructure that rewards and protects those who take risks to develop new innovations," he said.

In the past few years, the Guangdong intellectual property office settled 198 of the 199 patent-related complaints it received from foreign companies.

China registered nearly 2,500 trademark infringement cases of overseas rights holders last year, a 35-percent increase over 2007, according to Locke.

But despite these steps, American companies in fields as diverse as technology, entertainment and pharmaceuticals still lose billions every year in China from intellectual property theft, he said.

The US and China have already taken a series of steps to ramp up awareness and promotion of IPR protection.

For example, the US Patent and Trademark Office signed three memorandums of understanding with its Chinese counterpart to enhance cooperation on intellectual property issues.

Locke, on a four-day trip to China, co-chairs the 20th session of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade today, with participation of Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan in Hangzhou of Zhejiang province.