China on Wednesday promised the United States that it would crack down on pirated software as the world’s two largest economies looked to ease trade frictions amid political changes.
US and Chinese officials pointed to small signs of progress during annual trade talks, the nations’ first high-level meeting since US President Barack Obama’s re-election and China’s once-in-a-decade leadership transition.
Chinese officials said that the central and provincial governments along with major financial institutions would speed up work next year on ensuring they use only legal software, addressing a concern for a US industry which says that piracy costs it billions of dollars a year.
“We have confidence that the work will be completed at a faster pace,” said Yan Xiaohong, the vice-chairman of China’s National Copyright Administration, told reporters after the two-day talks in Washington.
Commerce Minister Chen Deming said that the two powers took up 24 issues during the talks and that Beijing’s main priority was ensuring that it enjoyed “fair and equal treatment” in trade and investment.
Chen said that the latest talks had yielded “some progress” on the issue but added: “Up to now we have not seen any substantial measures taken by the US side to implement or to honour its promises.”