China expressed on Tuesday great regret and strong dissatisfaction at the decision of the United States to file WTO cases against China over intellectual property rights and access to the Chinese publication market.

 

"The decision runs contrary to the consensus between the leaders of the two nations about strengthening bilateral economic and trade ties and properly solving trade disputes", said Wang Xinpei, spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce.

 

"It will seriously undermine the cooperative relations the two nations have established in the field and will adversely affect bilateral economic and trade ties", he added.

 

"The Chinese government has always been firm in protecting intellectual property rights and has attained well-known achievements", said Wang, adding that the two nations have been "in good communication and consultation with each other over access to the Chinese publication market".

 

China's top intellectual property official also lashed out at the United States' action.

 

"It's not a sensible move for the US government to file such complaint," said Tian Lipu, commissioner of the Intellectual Property Office, at a national meeting of intellectual property officials in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province.

 

By doing so, the United States has ignored the Chinese government's immense efforts and great achievements in strengthening IPR protection and tightening enforcement of its copyright laws, Tian said.

 

The Chinese government has not yet received a request for consultations from the United States, but will deliberate upon and actively respond to a formal request, said Wang.

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Under WTO rules, if the parties to a trade dispute fail to iron out their differences within a 60-day consultation period, the complaining party may refer the matter to a WTO dispute settlement panel.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2007)