'Service centres' set up, but foreign firms want more
The flurry of activity aimed at cracking down on copyright, patent and trademark piracy is not expected to satisfy foreign companies, which are looking for a more sustained effort to improve protection of intellectual property, observers say.
Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said this week the mainland would set up special 'service centres' in 50 cities this year for reporting piracy and educating the public about the problem.
The announcement came just before the annual meeting of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, a high-level gathering between the United States and China to discuss trade issues, and ahead of President Hu Jintao's first official visit to the US as head of state next week.
'They have been making progress, but they are obviously highlighting their push because of these high-level meetings. It's a systemic problem, so there's nothing they can fix quickly,' said one US business executive.
In an annual policy white paper, the American Chamber of Commerce in China and AmCham Shanghai said enforcement was still lagging.