An Interview with Wu Haimin, Author of Rivalry Between the Powers

An Interview with Wu Haimin, Author of Rivalry Between the Powers

Books whose title includes the phrase “intellectual property” seem to be wholly denied to best-seller lists or book sales ranking. However, this statement was reversed at the end of 2009, for on the weekly book sales ranking of some Beijing urban newspapers and on some bookstores’ (such as Beijing Xidan Books Building) best-seller lists, a book entitled Rivalry Between the Powers – Record of China-U.S. IP Negotiations had been at the top for a long time.

In the “books best favored by or having most influence on white collars” survey in the December 19 issue of Qianjiang Evening News, six books, including Rivalry Between the Powers, were listed.

The popularity of the book even surprised its author, Wu Haimin, who is now the president of the Beijing Times. However, no one has expected that this 2009 IP-related best-seller was finished as early as March 1997.

A book coming 12 years late

In 1992, Wu Haimin, invited by the Tariffs and Trade Division of the Department of International Relations and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), participated in the negotiations for China’s entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and decided to write a book celebrating China’s GATT accession. The book was due out at the end of 1994, when China was originally expected to enter the WTO. A few months later， however, China failed in the GATT accession negotiation due to American obstacles, and Wu had to stop his work in the Tariffs and Trade Division and give up his writing plan.

In the following long trek towards the resumption of GATT, two other tough talks between China and the U.S. were in full swing: China’s market access negotiations and intellectual property right negotiations. Sensitive to intellectual property issues, Wu saw an important theme commonly interwoven in the three negotiations: intellectual property. He then changed his writing plan to record the IP negotiations between China and the U.S. through interviews and personal attendances. He told this journalist: “I have been interested in copyright since1988 and wrote a book titled On the Way to Berne, which served as the knowledge reserve for my later creations.”

With the unique perspectives of intellectual property and the first-hand data acquired, Wu Haimin finished the manuscript of Talking to the U.S. (renamed to Rivalry Between the Powers when published in 2009) after three years of interviews and writings. As a journalist himself, Wu deeply understood what the book would mean to him, and knew it should not be published too hastily.

He handed the manuscript to Zhang Yuejiao (the then Director-general of the Department of Treaties and Law of the MOFTEC and one of the chief negotiators of the China-U.S. IP negotiation and market access negotiation; and the now Chinese judge at the WTO court), and received a high degree recognition from her, as well as a suggestion of submitting the manuscript to Long Yongtu for review. “I had been filled with confidence until I received the letter from Mr. Long. He clarified to me the possible consequences of the publication of my book, and asked me not to do it,” said Wu. “I still have this letter now.”

The letter goes: “As far as I know, this record of trade negotiations marks the first time in China that such full and accurate data and voluminous articles have been compiled. Thank you for your hard work.” But Mr. Long also pointed out that the book was unpublishable at the time: “The Sino-U.S. relations are in a particularly subtle stage at the moment. Charlene Barshefsky and Lee Sands are in power and confronting us. Publication of your book will possibly bring negative effects on our politics and diplomacy with the U.S.” He specifically noted that this was not his personal idea. “I have reported to Minister Wu Yi, and she also asks you to put overall national interests into prior consideration and not to have it published.” Mr. Long concluded his letter with a serious objection: “Since I have asked for the opinions of Minister Wu, I kindly ask you to take it as our final opinion.” Wu Haimin was so depressed by the letter, but he saw the sense later and put the manuscript aside. Hence, it started the 12-year dust sealing history of the great book!

12 years have passed; Wu Haimin was engaged in his Beijing Times work and almost forgot the book. When his A Memorandum of Copyright in China was reprinted, he thought of the manuscript 12 years ago. “I spent a whole day searching the dust-covered disks in my old house, and was so excited to find the one that saved my manuscript,” said Wu. After serious editions and strict examinations and approvals, the book that ever slipped from the author’s mind was finally presented to the public.