China vows to crack down on counterfeit
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-05-27 09:16

China Customs vowed on Tuesday to crack down on counterfeit and piracy as the First Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting opened in Brussels to address a crime which is now estimated to be worth more than 500 billion euros each year.

"Customs plays an important and active role in China's intellectual property protection," Liu Wenjie, vice minister of China Customs, told the congress, adding that his administration has done its utmost in fighting against counterfeit and piracy and got remarkable results.

Since the Chinese government issued a regulation on customs protection of intellectual property in 1995, 3,310 counterfeit and piracy cases were investigated by China Customs, with the seizures valued at US$68 million. Between 1999 and 2003, China Customs seized more than 200 million pieces of pirated CD and brought 214 suspects to criminal courts for smuggling.

Liu called for strengthening of international cooperation to combat the global problem, in particular the cooperation between customs and business.

China Customs signed an intellectual property protection agreement with American Film Institute in 1997. In 2002, China Customs reached a cooperation deal with the foreign investment association for intellectual property protection in China.

China Customs has also established a data for both Chinese and foreign property holders to help customs identify fake and pirated products.

Co-sponsored by Interpol and the World Customs Organization headquartered in Brussels, the two-day meeting provides an opportunity for leaders from the public and private sectors to analyze the social and economic impact of counterfeiting and shape future enforcement strategies and actions.

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