At the conference, Vice-Premier Wu Yi introduced the areas where China has made headway in IPR protection over the past year.

"The whole country has been mobilized in the campaign against IPR infringement," she said...

...Wu admitted, however, that China's governments, businesses and consumers have to make long-term concerted effort before IPR protection in the country can be changed thoroughly.

"I hope the US Government and enterprises can understand this, and see what China has achieved so far in IPR protection, and have faith in the future," said Wu.

She also spoke highly of the judicial interpretation announced last month. It made clear that offenders pirating more than 250,000 yuan (US$30,000) worth of copyrighted products can be jailed for up to seven years.

In drafting the interpretation, the Chinese side solicited opinions from many foreign sources, such as the European Commission and the US Information Technology Office, Wu said, adding the approach was "unprecedented."

The image (taken from the Xinhua article) shows Wu Yi embracing someone who appears to be James Zimmerman from the American Chamber of Commerce in China. The article is here.