Apple, Google, others say Chinese investment regulations infringe on intellectual property...
A trade group representing a number of high-profile U.S. technology firms, including Apple, Google, and IBM, spoke out against Chinese regulations at an International Trade Commission hearing on Tuesday, saying the Asian country's rules help facilitate intellectual property theft.
In testimony on Tuesday, Erin Ennis, senior vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said China's regulations for foreign investments require some companies to transfer technology to Chinese entities, the South China Morning Post reports.
The rules, which are in some cases applied as a condition of doing business in China, could place "unreasonable and discriminatory burdens" on U.S. firms, Ennis said. She added that transfer requirements are "an acute concern of American companies in key sectors, who often must make difficult choices about managing the trade-off of technology sharing and access to the world's second-largest economy."
According to a separate report from Reuters, via Insurance Journal, Ennis said surveys of the U.S.-China Business Council's 200 members showed only a third had been asked to transfer technology under China's laws. An even smaller "minority" was forced to do the same without compensation.
Still, Ennis views the ruleset as a problem and encourages President Donald Trump's administration to challenge China's mandates. The White House has already tasked Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to initiate an investigation into similar allegations under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, a process that could end in tariffs or import restrictions.
Ennis cautioned against a heavy-handed approach, however, saying officials should encourage the country to remedy any remaining problems instead of taking unilateral action that could dampen burgeoning trade relations. Also on the table is a dispute settlement process that would be handled by the World Trade Organization.
As Reuters notes, Chinese commercial groups were also at the hearing and contend their country has made steady progress in crafting an IP enforcement system, an institution that did not exist prior to China's relatively recent rise as a modern economic powerhouse.
Trump is expected to discuss the IP issue when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in November.
In testimony on Tuesday, Erin Ennis, senior vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said China's regulations for foreign investments require some companies to transfer technology to Chinese entities, the South China Morning Post reports.
The rules, which are in some cases applied as a condition of doing business in China, could place "unreasonable and discriminatory burdens" on U.S. firms, Ennis said. She added that transfer requirements are "an acute concern of American companies in key sectors, who often must make difficult choices about managing the trade-off of technology sharing and access to the world's second-largest economy."
According to a separate report from Reuters, via Insurance Journal, Ennis said surveys of the U.S.-China Business Council's 200 members showed only a third had been asked to transfer technology under China's laws. An even smaller "minority" was forced to do the same without compensation.
Still, Ennis views the ruleset as a problem and encourages President Donald Trump's administration to challenge China's mandates. The White House has already tasked Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to initiate an investigation into similar allegations under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, a process that could end in tariffs or import restrictions.
Ennis cautioned against a heavy-handed approach, however, saying officials should encourage the country to remedy any remaining problems instead of taking unilateral action that could dampen burgeoning trade relations. Also on the table is a dispute settlement process that would be handled by the World Trade Organization.
As Reuters notes, Chinese commercial groups were also at the hearing and contend their country has made steady progress in crafting an IP enforcement system, an institution that did not exist prior to China's relatively recent rise as a modern economic powerhouse.
Trump is expected to discuss the IP issue when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in November.
Comments
Is that even news worthy?
In other news... the sky is blue, except when it’s not.
Apple really needs to team up with IBM, integrate Watson with the new Siri a few of us know they are working on and completely destroy these scumbags.
Siri could destroy Google if they get it right.
I say Ha Ha!
Of course they can stop doing business in China. They can also talk like adults and see if they can come to some agreement that satisfies both sides and continue to do business in China.
Your response is just above the kindergarten level of maturity.
Anyway, we should be careful about straying off-topic. Turning yet another thread into a Google distraction isn't terribly beneficial.
The US just need to mirror China rules and laws for Chinese companies wishing to do business in the US. They can not sell in the US or to US company unless they set up a company in the US who is 51% owned by a US citizen and that Chinese companies has to assume all financial risks and they have to have real assess at risk in the US.
Free trade is good as long as both sides follow the same rules, since China has proven they will not honor US companies or US rules we just mirror their rules. The US does not have to be the bad guy here and set up tariffs after things go bad or a US company is shut down because a Chinese company stole all the IP. If US companies have to follow Chinese rules in China, then Chinese companies must follow Chinese rules in the US.
Congress just have to set up one law that saw all foreign companies wanting to have access to the US market must follow all the same rules their home country has in place for US companies wanting access to their countries market. This why the US never has to make any new rules and if other countries want their companies to do business in the US they will not put in place rules which keep out US companies.
If China is asking US corporations to give them the keys to valuable IP, that's a problem. China clones.
BTW, I do appreciate and regularly "like" many of the informative posts you contribute.
A question I haven't yet seen answered is why Apple's iMessage is allowed to be used in China when all other encrypted messaging apps are now blocked (AFAIK) unless the vendor agrees to share the private keys with the Chinese government "for security purposes" as mandated by Chinese law. Quite recently WhatsApp refused and ended up blocked from China two months ago. Is iMessage a feature on Chinese handsets? Dunno for certain.