US and China clash over Donald Trump’s intellectual property claims at WTO meeting
US Ambassador Dennis Shea said “forced technology transfer” was often forced on companies trying to access China’s swiftly growing marketplace; his Chinese counterpart flatly denied the claim
Chinese and US envoys sparred at the World Trade Organisation on Monday over US President Donald Trump’s claims that China steals American ideas, the subject of two lawsuits and a White House plan to slap huge punitive tariffs on Chinese goods.
US Ambassador Dennis Shea said “forced technology transfer” was often an unwritten rule for companies trying to access China’s swiftly growing marketplace, especially if they were partnering with a state-owned or state-directed Chinese firm.
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China’s licensing and administrative rules forced foreign firms to share technology if they wanted to do business, while government officials could exploit vague investment rules to impose technology transfer requirements, he said.
“This is not the rule of law. In fact, it is China’s laws themselves that enable this coercion,” Shea told the WTO’s dispute settlement body, according to a copy of his remarks.
“Fundamentally, China has made the decision to engage in a systematic, state-directed, and non-market pursuit of other (WTO) members’ cutting-edge technology in service of China’s industrial policy.”
It was a lose-lose proposition for foreign investors, he said, and not just Americans. All countries would see their competitiveness eroded if China’s policies were left unchecked.