The United States urged China on Tuesday to wage a wider war against rampant patent and copyright piracy as it sought ways to reduce a growing trade imbalance that has become an election issue in the United States.
Beijing needed to do much more to battle counterfeiting, which had seriously harmed US firms and workers, US Commerce Secretary Don Evans told reporters during a four-day visit to China.
"There needs to be much more efforts, much more resources put into the protection of intellectual property rights across the country," Evans told reporters during a visit to a factory in a Beijing suburb.
The Chinese authorities needed to do more at the provincial and city levels, he said, two months after Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi pledged during meetings with Evans in Washington to intensify a crackdown on counterfeiting.
China's own State Council has estimated the market value of counterfeit goods in China at about $19 billion to $24 billion annually. The bogus trade affects a wide range of US products, including films, music, publishing, software, pharmaceuticals, information technology and automotive parts.
Washington also hoped to do more to reduce its trade deficit with the world's fourth-biggest trading nation, which hit a record $124 billion in 2003 and is expected to head higher.
"In the first four months of this year the trade deficit continued to grow, so we need to continue to work on ways to reduce those trade barriers," Evans said.
China urged Washington to use negotiation rather than quick anti-dumping measures to solve trade differences. On Friday the United States said it would apply preliminary anti-dumping duties on $1.2 billion of Chinese wooden bedroom furniture.