|
Premier vows to better protect IPR
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-05-07 22:19
Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday pledged to crack down on
trademark piracy and better protect intellectual property rights.
Addressing a seminar on promoting investment between China and Italy, held at
the headquarters of the Italian National Industrialists Confederation
(Confindustria), Wen said the Chinese government attaches great importance to
intellectual property protection and has adopted a series of measures to crack
down on piracy, including setting up a special commission led by Vice Premier Wu
Yi to address this issue.
"Famous brands are intellectual properties representing competitive capacity
and interests, thus should be protected," he told some 700 representatives from
Italian and Chinese business circles.
He urged entrepreneurs from China and Italy to actively invest in each
other's countries and contribute to pushing forward bilateral economic
cooperation and trade.
The Chinese premier said Italy's investment in China to date totals 2.44
billion US dollars, accounting for only 4.6 percent of Italy's total investment
volume overseas.
Among the reasons are Italian enterprises' lack of understanding of the
Chinese market. Most Italian investment in China is centered in Shanghai and
other big coastal cities, said Wen, who arrived here Thursday for a three-day
visit as part of his five-nation European tour.
Italy is an industrialized nation possessing mature technology, famous
brands, exquisite craftsmanship and a large number of small and medium-sized
enterprises in particular, he noted.
"If Italian entrepreneurs widen their breadth of view, they can find their
ideal cooperation partners not only in China's east coastal area, but also in
the central, western and northwest regions," he told the seminar which opened on
Thursday.
The premier also urged the Chinese entrepreneurs to learn more of Italian
conditions, abide by Italian laws and regulations and seek out complementary
cooperation areas and projects.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi highly praised China's enormous
economic achievements over the past years.
"The current world, facing challenges of terrorism, needs China, " Berlusconi
said. "Strengthening relations with China will contribute to world stability."
He also urged Italian businessmen to go to China and find commercial
opportunities in the world's largest market. He called on Chinese businessmen to
invest in Italy, saying the Italian market needs Chinese commodities with its
own characteristics.
The two-day seminar was co-sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Production
Activities and China's Ministry of Commerce. It is the first time for China to
co-host an investment promotion seminar in a European Union (EU) country.
Some 700 delegates from both countries' business circles gathered in Rome to
exchange views and seek opportunities of cooperation in areas of ready-to-wear
clothes, food, environmental protection, automobiles, electrical appliances,
energy and medicines.
Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai and Italian Minister of Production
Activities Antonio Marzano also attended the seminar.
Sino-Italian ties have developed smoothly in recent years, with bilateral
trade volume totaling US$11.7 billion last year, a 28.3 percent increase over
the previous year.
Italy is China's fifth trading partner in the EU with 2,136 investment
projects in China by the end of 2003.
|
