China has the ability to create, determination to protect IPR

AFTER THE UNITED STATES announced it will levy additional tariffs of 10 percent on another $300 worth of imports from China, some people in Washington continue to harp on the same old string, criticizing China for stealing US intellectual properties. People's Daily comments:

No country is perfect at protecting IPR. Even the developed counties that have a more mature IPR protection legal system have large numbers of IPR legal cases and disputes to settle at home and abroad.

China would not have become one of the most popular destinations for foreign direct investment, if it performed in the field as badly as some US politicians allege.

In the past five years, the number of patent applications that China has received from overseas has increased by 3.1 percent a year on average and the number of trademark applications by 10.3 percent, reaching 650,000 and 840,000 respectively.

The transparency and efficiency with which the Chinese courts handle IPR cases have prompted many foreign enterprises to settle their IPR disputes in the country. And it has already become a preferable choice for multinational corporations to launch IPR lawsuits, because it saves more time and money than pursuing litigation in developed countries.

The breakthroughs China has made in science and technology largely stem from the Chinese people's long-term hard work, the huge inputs of various parties, and the fair, transparent and legal cooperation in research it has engaged with partners from other countries.

China is now one of the largest investors in innovation, and it is one of the sources for the largest number of applications for various kinds of IPR. Its efforts and progress in strengthening IPR protection have been recognized by many countries and organizations.

The critics of China in the US have their own agenda in demonizing China. They pretend to be blind to the fast progress China has made in IPR protection, and are not willing to accept the fact that China has been quickly transforming from a world workshop into an international innovation hub.

In their discourse, China seems unable to develop without stealing from the US. In fact, China has cutting-edge know-how that the US has not.

China would not be as foolish as they claim and put its fate in the hands of the US. It has both the resolve to protect IPR, and the capacity to create more of it. It is interesting that an increasing number of multinational enterprises are establishing new regional headquarters and innovation centers in China, something the US politicians cannot justify.