On the same day, a press conference was held in Beijing by several law enforcement and IPR departments of the central government to show China's progress in fighting piracy in 2005.

Wen's comments coincide with President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States where the issue of piracy is a hot topic at present.

Meanwhile, in Washington, visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged to step up protection of intellectual property rights at aluncheon attended by hundreds of government and business leaders on the second day of his visit to the United States.

"We will continue to improve the legal system for IPR protection, step up law enforcement and crack down hard on IPR infringement to protect the lawful rights and interests of foreign IPR proprietors in China in accordance with the law," Hu said.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)