China's great progress in cracking down on pirated goods has been highly praised by the World Customs Organization (WCO).

Michel Danet, Secretary General of the WCO, said in Geneva on January 31, that China's improved performance in intellectual property rights protection work is laudable. He said that China has implemented a series of measures to crack down on counterfeit and pirated items in line with its WTO commitments, international agreements and relevant trade rules and regulations.

Speaking to Xinhua News Agency during a world conference on how to combat the global pirated goods phenomenon, Danet noted that China had fulfilled its commitments made at its WTO entry by enacting laws to regulate the market and improving the process of law enforcement. Additionally, China has been playing an active role in the crackdown on piracy and fake goods in joint efforts with partner countries like the EU, the United States and Japan.

Danet believed that in 2008, when the Olympic Games is held in Beijing, China will see a cleaner market emerge after the government's more efficient and tougher measures to ensure the Beijing event was a success.

Danet, who attributed piracy to various social and political reasons, regarded it as a world headache that involves all member countries of the WCO. Meanwhile, he said these pirated and fake goods not only damage the interests of consumers and reputations of enterprises, but also threaten the life and health of consumers, and those responsible should be as severely punished as drug dealers and terrorists. The WCO, along with the World Intellectual Property Organization and International Criminal Police Organization, will strengthen their cooperation by constructing a network to jointly fight against piracy and counterfeit goods.

(China.org.cn)