A memorandum of understanding on intellectual property protection (IPR) was
signed yesterday between China and Italy on the sidelines of the ongoing state
visit of Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
The memorandum was signed between the China Council for the Promotion of
International Trade (CCPIT) and the Italian Trade Commission. The two sides will
sign a detailed agreement soon, Xinhua News Agency reported.
"The signing of the document will promote China-Italy co-operation on IPR and
cracking down on fake and pirated products," said Liu Wenjie, CCPIT's
vice-chairman.
In an era of the knowledge-based economy, Italy and China share similar IPR
objectives, Antonio Marzano, Italian minister of Production Activities, said at
the signing ceremony. "It is in the common interests of the two countries."
According to the memorandum, both sides will offer companies information on
the related laws, help with trademark registration and hold seminars on IPR
protection, it said.
Statistics released by Chinese Customs officials indicate the volume of
Chinese trade with Italy in the first 10 months this year reached US$12.68
billion, or up 31.6 per cent when compared with the same period of last year.
Marzano is accompanying Italian President Ciampi' tour to China.
On Monday, the Italian president and President Hu Jintao signed a package of
protocols, involving co-operation in culture, trade, heritage property
protection and sports collaboration.
The two leaders also agreed that the year of 2006 would be the Italian
Culture Year in China.
The visiting president met yesterday with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and promised to support
exchanges between parliaments of the two as a way to develop better
relationship.
"The exchange between the parliaments of both nations will increase mutual
understanding between the people of the two nations," Wu said. "We hope to
increase friendly, co-operative ties with the Italian parliament in terms of
legislation."
Ciampi also delivered a speech at Tsinghua University and was to fly to
Shanghai to continue his visit in China.
