China has arrested some 2,600 people in an eight-month-long crackdown on infringement on intellectual property rights (IPR), the government said Tuesday, urging the US to acknowledge the efforts and progress it made.  

"China has made huge progress in the IPR protection since China and the US signed a memorandum on IPR in 1992," said Vice Commerce Minister Zhang Zhigang, who is also office director of the State Work Group on Intellectual Property Rights Protection. "We have fully honored our commitments made at the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in 2004."

He expressed "deep regrets" over the US government's action of putting China on a "Priority Watch List" in the IPR protection, saying it does not conform with facts.

At the end of April, the US Trade Representative's Office said in its annual report on copyright theft that the US government was putting China and 13 other nations on a priority watch list, which subjects the countries to special review of their efforts to deal with the theft of US copyrighted materials such as movies, music and computer software.

Addressing a nationally televised news conference, Zhang said China has handled 24,189 trademark infringement cases and seized more than 167 million pieces of illegal audio-video products and pirated products since the country launched a massive crackdown on IPR violations last September.

In addition, China has destroyed 24 illegal CD production lines and closed down 2,960 illegal printing workshops.

"I should say China is among the countries that carry out the severest crackdown on the IPR protection," said Shen Deyong, vice president of the Supreme People's Court, at the same news conference.

Zhang said China has made leap-frog progress in IPR legislation and is striving to foster an IPR-conscious environment in society, setting the week after April 20 as an "IPR Protection Publicity Week" every year.

"So far, the Chinese government has been seriously and concretely pushing forward the IPR protection," said Zhang. "There are still a few problems in China's IPR protection, but we are paying attention to these problems and solving them one after another."

Zhang said it should be honestly pointed out that the IPR protection is a universal problem in the world and not unique to China.

Citing a survey released by the US Business Software Alliance on May 18, Zhang said that losses incurred by piracy (or the value of illegal software) in Europe and the United States are the highest, with the per capita loss reported there far surpassing that in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Therefore, the priorities in the global crackdown on piracy should first be the EU, then the US and then the Asia-Pacific region. China does not deserve to be among the top priorities yet," said Zhang.

He said the Chinese government is consistent and firm with its decision, attitude and stand on the IPR protection.

"Chinese leaders have repeatedly said the IPR protection is not only a necessity to meet its commitments to the WTO and the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, but is also motivated by its need to improve the investment environment and realize the nation's rejuvenation," said Zhang. "It bears on the long-term fundamental interests of the Chinese people."

Zhang said addressing the IPR protection needs concerted efforts from all sides. The Chinese government hopes relevant countries will acquaint themselves with more about Chinese laws, regulations and law-enforcement in this field and adopt a cooperative approach to promote the spread of technology and progress.

"Putting China on that list constitutes a denial of the myriad work done by the Chinese government in the IPR protection and the progress made. That's not an objective reflection of the actual situation," he said

"We hope the US side appreciates the work the Chinese government has done and views positively China's progress in the IPR protection," he said.

"We should realistically be aware of the fact that China is still a developing country with a 1.3 billion population," said Zhang, adding that its economic, cultural and technological levels are still not high.

"But we have set for us a lofty goal, which is to complete the IPR legislative process of Western countries of more than 100 years in no more than 20 years," said Zhang.

He appealed for mass participation of the public, international exchanges and cooperation, negotiation, cooperation and understanding, rather than blame, to help China cover the full course of Western developed countries in the IPR rectification and protection in a relatively short period.

He also called on reporters to realistically report the efforts the Chinese government has made in the IPR protection, confirming the progress as well as revealing the difficulties and shortcomings.

According to Zhang, China will prolong the one-year IPR protection campaign, which is scheduled to conclude in August, to the end of this year.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2005)