System to deal with nuclear accidents (China Daily) Updated: 2006-07-03 11:01 Low awareness
A lack of knowledge of patents among companies and the
country's weak grasp of intellectual property rights are holding China back, a
senior official said last week.
Lu Yongxiang, vice-chairman of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, warned that a lack of
experience in patent applications was an obstacle to China's goal of becoming an
"innovative country."
Between 1998 and 2003, 99 per cent of Chinese
companies had not applied for a single patent, Lu said.
Free
trade
The Chinese premier and the Australian prime minister both
expressed hope of accelerating talks on a free-trade agreement (FTA) last
Wednesday.
The sixth round of negotiations for a Sino-Australian FTA will
be held in Beijing in early September, tackling significant issues such as
bidding and offering.
"We have agreed to speed up the free trade area
(FTA) negotiations," Premier Wen Jiabao told reporters after a one-hour meeting
with Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Shenzhen.
Howard said the
negotiations are going well and that he remains optimistic.
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