IPR protection boosts internet economy

While raising doubts over China's intellectual property laws and practices, the United States should not ignore the progress Beijing has made in those areas. For example, guaranteeing full protection to intellectual property rights online is a difficult task, yet the government has taken measures to address the problem and make remarkable progress in this regard.

According to a China Internet Network Information Center report, by the end of last year China had about 731 million internet users and the total value of internet copyrights exceeded 560 billion yuan ($86.8 billion). But online piracy, too, has grown with the internet industry, harming IPR protection online.

Piracy is the most serious online copyright violation, because of the low costs and low risks involved, and the high profits it can fetch. This year's China Network Intellectual Property Development Report indicates the country's core online copyright industry increased 31.3 percentage points last year compared with 2015, with the online game industry being worth 180 billion yuan, online literature 10 billion yuan, and online videos 5.21 billion yuan. But for online piracy, these figures could have been bigger.