Page 10 - ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

such as the State Administration for Market Regulation, as part of a
major readjustment of government institutions this past March. The
purpose of this is to remove the systemic and institutional obstacles that
prevent the market from playing a decisive role in resource allocation
and to enable the government to better play its role. During the first six
months of this year, we will finish the revision of the negative list
on foreign investment and implement across the board the system of
pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list.
Third, we will strengthen protection of intellectual property rights
(IPR). This is an important centerpiece of the efforts to improve the
property rights protection system, and it will provide a major boost to the
competitiveness of the Chinese economy. If there have been demands
for stronger IPR protection from foreign enterprises, the demands from
Chinese enterprises have been even stronger. This year, we are re-instituting
the State Intellectual Property Office to strengthen the IPR law enforcement
forces and step up the level of law enforcement. We will significantly
raise the cost of breaking the law and make sure the law serves as an
effective deterrent. We encourage normal technological exchanges and
cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises, and we will
protect the lawful IPR of foreign enterprises in China. At the same time,
we hope foreign governments will also improve protection for Chinese
IPR.
Fourth, we will take proactive measures to expand imports.
Domestic demand is the fundamental driving force of China’s economic
development, and it is an essential element of meeting our people’s ever-
growing needs for a better life. China does not seek trade surpluses;
we have a genuine desire to increase imports and achieve a balance in
international payments under our current account. This year, we will
significantly lower import tariffs for automobiles and reduce import
tariffs for other products. We will work to import more specialty and
competitive products for which demand from our people is strong.
We will seek faster progress toward joining the WTO Government
Procurement Agreement. We hope developed countries will remove
restrictions on normal and reasonable trade of high-tech products and
relax export controls on such trade with China. This November, we will
hold the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai. This is not

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