Source: People's Daily Online

China has established an intellectual property (IP) system that complies with common international rules, and the country has become a defender, participant, and constructor of the international intellectual property rules, Zhang Zhicheng, Director General of the Protection and Coordination Department of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), said in an interview with People's Daily.

All countries face common problems, including affirmation of intellectual property rights (IPR), technology diffusion, benefit-sharing, infringement, and piracy, problems which are also getting increasingly complicated, Zhang noted.

“To address these problems, international cooperation should be the only approach for us,” Zhang said, calling to strengthen effective protection of innovation and maintain a healthy and orderly market order to promote fair competition.

“We should guarantee that benefits of innovation are shared by all humans,” he stressed.

The IPR system should be turned into a bridge for innovation cooperation among countries in the world based on common interests, and doing so should be the responsibility of all members of the international community, especially major countries like China and the US, according to Zhang.

The IP disputes between Chinese and American enterprises are a reflection of the operation of different IP systems and a cooperative approach adopted by both sides is needed to improve and solve these problems, commented Zhang, pointing out that China treats domestic and foreign enterprises equally and provides them with equal protections.

He reiterated that China resolutely opposes the abuse of IP rules and opposes trade protection in the name of IP protection. China also disapproves emphasizing protection of rights without talking about related obligations, or emphasizing one’s own interests while leaving behind principles of multilateral agreements.

“China is willing to work together with the international community to effectively safeguard the multilateral trading system, and is committed to working with all countries in the world, including the US, to build an open, inclusive, effective, and balanced international system for intellectual property rights,” the director general said.