On May 23, 2007, it was announced by the person in charge of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) in Washington, D.C. that the "Memorandum on Strengthening IP Law Enforcement Cooperation" was signed between the Customs of China and the U.S. on the 22nd.  This is one of the important achievements attained in the Second Sino-US Strategic Economic Dialogue.

Mu Xinsheng, Director of the General Administration of Customs of China and Ralph Barsham, Director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection signed the text of the Memorandum in the name of their respective governments.

According to the specifications of the Memorandum, cooperation will be further enhanced in the aspects of personnel interflow, sharing of law enforcement practice skill and experience, law enforcement data exchange and case information briefing.

The aforesaid person in charge of GACC also said that the Customs of China and the US are shouldering important duties in terms of customs protection of intellectual property right.  They have made remarkable achievements and also accumulated rich experiences.  Therefore, the signing of the Memorandum on Strengthening IP Law Enforcement Cooperation by the two customs will play an important role in further strengthening cooperation, jointly cracking down on the circulation of counterfeit and pirated goods and promoting the healthy development of trade between the two countries.