"China can't always dwell at the lower end of the global industrial chain", said SIPO Commissioner Tian Lipu. "We may settle for trading our own resources and labor force for a fraction processing fee. But that is not in the best interest of the country. In light of the challenges, how to materialize our objective in innovation with determination is a serious topic for every Chinese," Tian addressed the 2012 National IP Publicity Week, responding to a U.S. media report named Gave Mercantilist China Some Rough Treatment.

According to this article, before 2006, China actively encouraged foreign direct investment through a vast array of incentives, many of which could be labeled as mercantilism and lack of fairness. While the consequences of China's mercantilist policies might not have always been good for the U.S. economy, and especially for many production workers in traded sectors, U.S. multinational corporations benefited from access to a low-cost production platform. And Americans in their role as consumers benefited from lower-cost goods. While China occasionally engaged in policies that brought complaints from U.S. industry, by and large the United States was satisfied with the relationship. In 2006, that began to change. China made the strategic decision to shift to a new development model that focused on helping Chinese firms grow by moving up the value chain and gaining global market share, often at the expense of foreign firms.

"There is no sign that China would give up innovative mercantilist voluntarily. Although the successive U.S. administrations remained open in dialogues,  no viable solution has ever been devised", according to the report. "Their quick fix is to smash Created in China and to rejuvenate the good old Made in China, welding China at the lower end of the global industrial chain. China, in the process of making cheap goods, suffers real environmental and resource consequences. We elect to compete by taking over knowledge vantage points through self-generated innovations. They say nay ",said Tian.

In fact, the core of the U.S. national policy is to protect its own innovations, seize vantage points and gain revenues through knowledge creation, knowledge trade and high-value-added knowledge products, which is their edge over the rest of the world. Defending such edge is vital for their incessant dwarfing the rest of the world.

"Knowledge creation and vantage points are reflected by IPRs. Consequently, they dominate and influence the word in patent, trademark and copyright industry", according to Tian.

"China can't engage in OEMs forever as the industrialized countries wish, becoming their employee and assuming the consequences of their industrial restructuring and relocation. We need to flex our mind muscles. Of course, this requires a solid cultural and social ambience and a well-oiled legal system on top of the participation of the general population", said Tian.

(China IP News)

 

2012-06-19

2012-06-19