China regrets that the United States has appealed to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) for the second time to set up an expert
panel to investigate US complaints that China is failing to do
enough to protect intellectual property rights (IPRs), a Chinese
government spokesman said on Thursday.
The Chinese government would actively respond to the US request
and protect China's interests under WTO rules, said Wang Xinpei,
spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce.
The WTO decided on Tuesday to establish the panel according to
US request, after the first request was rejected by China last
month according to WTO rules.
The United States initiated the case at the WTO on April 10,
claiming that China's legal structure for IPR protection is
unfairly deficient and inconsistent with WTO regulations.
Consultations between the two sides failed to solve the
dispute.
China had repeatedly expressed its position since the start of
the case, and had showed great sincerity during negotiations, said
Wang.
For nearly 30 years and particularly since joining the WTO in
2001, China had spared no efforts to improve its IPR legislation,
and the legislation was in full accordance with WTO rules, said
Wang.
By initiating the case, the United States was actually trying to
change the international practice on IPR protection, with an
attempt to make developing members shoulder extra obligations
through the dispute settlement system.
China firmly opposed accepting obligations that went beyond what
is prescribed in the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and believed that other
developing members would not accept the outcome of such an attempt,
said Wang.
Wang reiterated that China would continue to pay much attention
to IPR protection, as it was necessary for China's economic
development.
As a developing country, China is ready to make its due efforts
for promoting worldwide IPR protection, Wang said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2007)
