1st LD-Writethru: China doubts credibility of U.S. report on IPR protection

BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- A spokesman of China's Ministry of Commerce Thursday expressed doubts over "the objectivity and credibility" of a U.S. report that listed some Chinese marketplaces as "notorious markets" for pirated and fake products.

The report, released last week by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, lacks "solid evidence and data support," spokesman Gao Feng said at a press conference.

"The Chinese government has always attached great importance to intellectual property right (IPR) protection and made noticeable achievements," Gao said.

In the first three quarters of last year, law enforcement dealt with more than 110,000 cases related to IPR infringement or fake products.

"The two countries should resolve differences in a constructive way by pushing forward bilateral cooperation in IPR protection," he said.

Commenting on a U.S. draft act to prohibit the government from using Chinese telecommunications services or equipment, Gao said the draft "to some extent sent a wrong signal to the market and will not be good for China-U.S. telecommunications cooperation and hurt Chinese companies' confidence in U.S. business and investment environment."

Gao said the U.S. should treat Chinese companies and products with an objective and fair attitude to make U.S. customers enjoy the benefits of Chinese products.

"Mutual benefits weigh more than differences in the Sino-U.S. economic and trade ties," Gao said. "We hope that trade frictions do not upgrade, but will also take resolute actions to protect Chinese rights and interests." Enditem