International Herald Tribune:

“These are criminal organizations and one of the things they do is run a supply chain for illicit goods, pirated goods,” Gutierrez said during an interview on the second day of a four-day visit to China at the head of a U.S. business delegation. “This is organized crime. One day it could be T-shirts, the next day it could be watches and the next day it could be medicines.”

Gutierrez acknowledged that the Chinese authorities were stepping up their efforts to enforce laws protecting intellectual property. He noted that the Chinese authorities had recently seized fake Tamiflu, a drug used to treat influenza, in an operation that involved cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Chinese courts have also ruled to protect trademarks and patents in cases involving major U.S. companies, including Pfizer, GM, Starbucks and Kodak, Gutierrez said. And the authorities have begun the first action against textbook piracy on college campuses.