China says intellectual property rights crackdown not reaction to other countries' probes

[BEIJING] China's commerce ministry said on Thursday that its months-long crackdown on intellectual property rights violations was not a response to probes by other countries.

Protection of intellectual property rights is important to China, ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing.

Earlier this month, the ministry said China had launched a campaign targeting theft of business secrets and knock offs of well-known brands, and had taken steps to protect copyrighted material.

REUTERS