Intellectual Property
Several developments in intellectual property rights (IPR) have occurred
recently: The interagency IPR Working Group was disbanded as part of the
government restructuring; China released a detailed plan to improve
intellectual property protection; and the World Trade Organization
appointed panelists in a case in which the United States is challenging
China's restrictive market access for copyright-intensive industries.
In addition, the State Council in April approved China's 2008 IPR
Strategy Outline, which was expected to be released in May. The strategy
aims to improve protection of, international cooperation on, and
domestic awareness of intellectual property. The strategy also
encourages innovation and the use of new technologies among PRC
companies.
Two foreign companies recently won cases against PRC copyright
infringers. First, Ferrero Group's three-year battle against PRC-based
Montresor (Zhangjiagang) Food Co., Ltd. ended with a Chinese court
ordering Montresor to stop producing its Tresor Dore chocolates and pay
Ferrero €50,000 ($79,085) in "symbolic" damages. Second, Gucci
Group's case, in which it claimed counterfeiters were using its
interlocking "GG" logo on ladies' sandals, ended with a settlement of
¥180,000 ($25,734).
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National People's Congress
The highlight of the inaugural session of the 11th National People's
Congress (NPC) was the unveiling of a much-anticipated government
restructuring plan. The main aim of the plan is to streamline government
and reduce the number of agencies with competing or overlapping
responsibilities. The plan created the Ministry of Industry and
Information, which will take over most industry approval functions; the
National Energy Commission, which will coordinate energy policy; and
four other new ministries.
The NPC also appointed several new PRC leaders, including three new vice
premiers: Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, and Wang Qishan, who were assigned
the macroeconomic management; industry, telecom, and energy; and trade
and finance portfolios, respectively.
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Taiwan
Despite reports of a close presidential race in Taiwan in the final days
before voters went to the polls in late March, Nationalist Party
candidate Ma Ying-jeou won by 17 points. Two referenda that called on
Taiwan to apply for United Nations membership as an independent entity
failed, perhaps signaling voters' desire for better relations with the
mainland.
In line with Ma's campaign pledge of better cross-Strait
relations, direct talks between Taiwan and mainland China, halted since
1999, seem likely to resume soon after Ma takes office on May 20. PRC
President Hu Jintao and Taiwan Vice President-elect Vincent Siew met on
the sidelines of the Boao Forum in Hainan in mid-April—reportedly
the highest-level contacts between the two sides since 1949.
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Economy
China's currency, the renminbi (RMB), passed the 7:1 threshold against
the US dollar on April 9, marking a 4.3 percent rise against the dollar
since January 1 (see The Great Currency Debate).
China's economy grew 10.6 percent in the first three months of 2008,
slightly less than in the first quarter of 2007. Slower growth was
likely due to severe winter weather in China and US economic woes.
China's first-quarter trade surplus fell 11 percent year on year, with
the total value of imports rising 28.6 percent and the value of exports
growing 21.4 percent. Meanwhile, rising food prices pushed the consumer
price index to 8 percent for the first quarter of 2008, according to the
PRC National Bureau of Statistics.
In other news, China revised its 2007 gross domestic product upward by
¥3.6 trillion to ¥25.0 trillion, increasing the year-on-year
growth rate to 11.9 percent.
The World Bank named China the world's second-largest economy in terms
of purchasing power, replacing Japan.
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