During the seventh round of Sino-US high-level  trade talks in Washington, the consensus on strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights has been increasing. As the two largest economies in the world, China and the United States have three "interest convergence points" on intellectual property protection.

First, it is a common demand for the two countries in order to improve economic competitiveness.

China has amended a series of laws and regulations, such as the patent law, trademark law and copyright law, established special intellectual property court and reorganized the State Intellectual Property Office in the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, which has greatly enhanced the protection of intellectual property and promoted innovation and development.

Undoubtedly, China is already an important force in intellectual property protection in the world, but it still faces some problems. Therefore, President Xi stressed that strengthening intellectual property protection is the biggest incentive to improve China's economic competitiveness.

How to strengthen it? Deepening international cooperation in intellectual property protection may be the answer.

Secondly, intellectual property protection has been indispensable in terms of the   international economic and trade system. China is further expanding its opening up, and integrating into the international trade system. China has taken actions to deliver this goal, such as introducing punitive damages for the first time in the revised draft of the patent law, establishing intellectual property division in the Supreme People’s Court, and promoting the fourth amendment of the trademark law.

Thirdly, to strengthen intellectual property protection is beneficial for a healthy Sino-US trade relation. At present, the US is China's largest export market and sixth largest source of imports. China is the fastest growing export market and the largest source of imports for the US. The two countries are so deeply interconnected that their demands for intellectual property protection naturally rise.

The US requires that China strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights of the US enterprises in China, which is in fact in line with China's reform and opening-up.

At the same time, with more and more Chinese enterprises "going out", China also hopes that the intellectual property rights of Chinese enterprises can be protected in the world. As China continues to improve innovation, the US should further protect intellectual property rights of Chinese enterprises in the US.

At present, the two countries are promoting consensus of the two heads of state. Specifically, the common interest in intellectual property protection is a good example.

March 5, 2019

Source: Xinhua

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