The U.S. government’s decision to target up to $ 60 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs does not conform to the latter’s reality and is merely an “incognito gesture” meant to meet U.S. domestic political demands, experts said.
“Ever since the implementation of the Opening Up policy, China has been making constant efforts in the regards of market reform and protection of intellectual property rights. America’s 301 investigation has ignored China’s practical situation, disregarding the two nations joint efforts in promoting bilateral trade ties,” said Chen Fuli, director-general of the department of treaty and law of China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Long being seen as a copycat land that churns out low-quality imitation products, China has become increasingly innovative and has been making great effort in enforcing an effective IPR regime in recent years. In February, the Chinese leadership unveiled guidelines for improving the trial procedures of IPR cases, including building a compensation system for IPR infringement and stepping up creation of IPR courts.
According to Xinhua, in 2016, Chinese courts handled 152,072 IPR cases, up 16.8 percent year on year. Over 3,700 people were arrested and 7,000 prosecuted, according to an IPR protection whitepaper.
“It is strategically important for China’s economy that the country enhances protection of intellectual property rights,” Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying by Xinhua in December, 2017.
In addition to protecting intellectual property, China has also made remarkable achievements in the regard of innovation. According to the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization reports in 2017, innovators around the world filed 3.1 million patent applications in 2016, up 8.3 percent making for a seventh straight yearly increase, while China received about 236,600 of the nearly 240,600 additional patent filings, accounting for 98 percent of total growth.
"The latest figures charting a rise in demand for intellectual property rights confirms a decade-long trend, where developments in China increasingly have left their mark on worldwide totals," said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. "China is increasingly amongst the leaders in global innovation and branding."