China opposes U.S. 'Special 301 Report' on intellectual property

Members of the high-speed train maintenance staff at Hefei South Railway Station, are pictured at a service depot in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, March 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)

China opposes the latest so-called "Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights" issued by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday.

The ministry's announcement came after the US government labeled 36 countries as inadequately protecting US intellectual property rights on Friday, keeping China on a priority watch list and adding Canada over concerns about its border controls and pharmaceutical practices.

"China urges the US to earnestly fulfill its bilateral commitments, respect the facts, and objectively and impartially evaluate the efforts made by foreign governments including China in terms of intellectual property rights and the results achieved," the ministry said in a statement.

The US has unilaterally criticized the condition of intellectual property rights in other countries for a long time. It lacked objective standards and fairness, and was generally opposed by the countries concerned, said an official from the ministry's Department of Treaty and Law.

The ministry said China has attached great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights and regards it as the most important aspect of improving the property rights protection system; it is the biggest incentive for improving Chinas developing ability.

Over the years, China has continued to improve its legislation and continuously strengthened the administration of intellectual property rights and judicial protection. The relevant systems and protection levels are in line with international rules, according to the statement.

At the same time, China persists in opening wider to the outside world and implements the negative list system. It treats domestic and foreign-funded businesses equally and strives to improve the business environment for foreign investment.

With the development of new technologies and global value chains, intellectual property protection has become a common issue. China is ready to work with other countries to enhance international exchanges and cooperation in intellectual property protection and jointly confront the challenges, the ministry said.