Beijing firm on IP rights at trade talks

China said on Thursday that its position on strengthening intellectual property protection is "firm and consistent". It was a remark made amid ongoing talks between Beijing and Washington as they attempt to work out a solution to avoid escalation of trade and economic disputes.

No information was available from the closed-door discussions by press time, according to Gao Feng, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, at a regular news conference in Beijing.

The talks, headed by Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, started on Wednesday morning with an opening ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House and were to end on Thursday afternoon.