A Chinese government official Tuesday expressed "deep regret" over the US government's action of putting China on a "Priority Watch List" in intellectual property right (IPR) protection, saying "it does not conform with facts."

Zhang Zhigang, office director of the State Work Group on Intellectual Property Rights Protection and also vice minister of commerce, made the remarks at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing.

At the end of April, the US Trade Representative's office said in its annual report on copyright theft that the US government was putting China and 13 other nations on a priority watch list, which subjects the countries to special review of their efforts to deal with the theft of US copyrighted materials such as movies, music and computer software.

Responding to this, Zhang said China has made rapid progress in IPR protection since it signed a memorandum on IPR protection with the United States in 1992, and especially after China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

China took more than 20 years to set up its law system on IPR, which cost more than a century for developed countries, he said. China's laws and regulations not only comply with the WTO rules, but have also gained wide acclaim from the international community.

Since the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade was launched in 2004, China has fully fulfilled all its commitments, with a high-ranking official working team headed by Vice Premier Wu Yi. China has also carried out a nationwide campaign specialized in IPR protection since last September, and achieved fruitful results.

On April 20 this year, China launched a week-long nationwide campaign at the opportunity of the World Intellectual Property Day, to enhance public awareness of IPR protection.

All these actions proved that China attaches great importance to and has made great efforts in IPR protection, though there were still problems existing in this field, he said.

Zhang stressed that IPR is a problem confronting all the countries in the world, and calls for joint efforts by all. The Chinese government hoped countries concerned could learn more about the achievements and efforts China has made in IPR-related legislation and law enforcement, and cooperate with China to improve IPR protection.

"China also hoped the US government could understand the work the Chinese side has done, and give object comments on China's achievement in IPR protection," Zhang said.

Source: Xinhua