Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SHANGHAI314
2009-07-16 02:05:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Shanghai
Cable title:  

THE COORDINATION MECHANISM AND PERSONALITIES THAT MAKE

Tags:  CH ECON KIPR PGOV PINR 
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VZCZCXRO8540
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0314/01 1970205
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160205Z JUL 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8125
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2952
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2109
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0566
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2278
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 2100
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 1897
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8776
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SHANGHAI 000314 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR INR/B
USTR FOR CHINA OFFICE - AWINTER, TWINELAND; IPR OFFICE - KALVIREZ; AND OCG - TPOSNER
DOC FOR ITA/MAC: SZYMANSKI
LOC/COPYRIGHT OFFICE - STEPP
USPTO FOR INT'L AFFAIRS - LBOLAND
DOJ FOR CCIPS - TNEWBY
FBI FOR LBRYANT
DHS/ICE FOR IPR CENTER - DFAULCONER
DHS/CPB FOR IPR RIGHTS BRANCH - GMCCRAY
NSC FOR JIM LOI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CH ECON KIPR PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: THE COORDINATION MECHANISM AND PERSONALITIES THAT MAKE
SHANGHAI'S IPR SYSTEM TICK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SHANGHAI 000314

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR INR/B
USTR FOR CHINA OFFICE - AWINTER, TWINELAND; IPR OFFICE - KALVIREZ; AND OCG - TPOSNER
DOC FOR ITA/MAC: SZYMANSKI
LOC/COPYRIGHT OFFICE - STEPP
USPTO FOR INT'L AFFAIRS - LBOLAND
DOJ FOR CCIPS - TNEWBY
FBI FOR LBRYANT
DHS/ICE FOR IPR CENTER - DFAULCONER
DHS/CPB FOR IPR RIGHTS BRANCH - GMCCRAY
NSC FOR JIM LOI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CH ECON KIPR PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: THE COORDINATION MECHANISM AND PERSONALITIES THAT MAKE
SHANGHAI'S IPR SYSTEM TICK


1. (SBU) Summary: Shanghai has often been cited by the U.S.
business community as the "diamond in the rough" when it comes
to intellectual property protection in China. The highest
levels of Shanghai Government have publicly declared the city's
commitment to IPR, largely as a means to spur innovation and
continued investment in Shanghai's burgeoning high tech sectors,
and Shanghai's lower ranking administrative officials have
largely followed suit. While the administrative IP structure is
similar to other cities in China, Shanghai has super charged its
coordinating body, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Joint
Council (Lianxi Huiyi),, resulting in a more unified effort to
protect IPR. Highly skilled key officials, working in tandem,
have made all the difference in moving Shanghai to the forefront
of China's efforts to provide both foreign and domestic IP the
protection it is due. Chief among these officials are Vice
Mayor Zhao Wen, Vice President of the Shanghai Municipal
Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Congress (SCCPPCC) Gao Xiaomei, Director General of the Shanghai
Intellectual Property Administration Chen Zhixing, Director
General of Shanghai Copyright Bureau Jiao Yang, Deputy Director
General of the Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce
Chen Xuejun, and Vice Director of the Shanghai IP Administration
Lu Guoqiang. The following is a description of the Shanghai
Intellectual Property Joint Council and the key officials that
put Shanghai on the cutting edge of IP protection. End Summary.

Shanghai Leads in Coordination
--------------


2. (SBU) City leaders, including Mayor Han Zheng, have publicly
committed to protecting IPR and have made coordination between
the city and neighboring jurisdictions a top priority. To
create the local legal framework for IP protection, the Shanghai

People's Committee makes all local laws related to IPR, and the
Shanghai Municipal Government develops local IP regulations.
Both bodies have delegated large amounts of authority to the
Shanghai Intellectual Property Joint Council for the
implementation and oversight of IP protection in the city.
Member organizations include the Shanghai Development and Reform
Commission, the Shanghai Economic and Information Technology
Commission, the Shanghai Education Commission, the Shanghai
Science and Technology Commission, the Shanghai Public Security
Bureau, the Shanghai Justice Bureau, the Shanghai Construction
Commission, the Shanghai Agriculture Commission, the Shanghai
Commerce Commission, the Shanghai Administration of Culture,
Film, Radio & TV, the Shanghai Health Bureau, the Shanghai
State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission,
the Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce, the
Shanghai Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau, the Shanghai
Food and Drug Administration, the Shanghai Copyright Bureau, the
Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, the Legal Affairs
Office of Shanghai Municipal Government, Shanghai Customs, the
Shanghai Urban Management Bureau, the Shanghai Culture Task
Force, and the Shanghai World Expo Bureau. Guest members in the
Shanghai Intellectual Property Joint Council include the
Shanghai Municipal People's Congress (SMPC),the Shanghai High
Court, the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate Court, the Shanghai No.2
Intermediate Court, the Shanghai Procuratorate, the Shanghai
Municipal Party Committee Politics and Law Commission, and the
Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Publicity Department. The
Shanghai IP Administration (SIPA) serves as the umbrella
organization that performs many of the day-to-day coordinating
functions for the Shanghai Joint Conference.

Vice Mayor Zhao Wen
--------------


3. (SBU) Zhao Wen, born in November 1956, is a native of Anhui
Province. She has an "on-the-job" postgraduate degree and holds
a doctorate in public administration. She served as the Deputy
General Accountant and Manager of the Finance Department of the
Shanghai Wujiaochang Hi-Tech Park beginning in May 1974. She

SHANGHAI 00000314 002 OF 004


also worked as an associate professor in the accounting
department at Tongji University and as Deputy Director, and
subsequently as the Director of the Economics and Management
Institute of Tongji University. After leaving academia, Zhao
served as the Vice Governor of Nanhui District, Deputy
Chairperson of the Shanghai Committee of the Jiu San Society,
member of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress Standing
Committee, member of the SMPC's Economics and Finance
Department, Vice Director of the Budget Working Committee of the
SMPC Standing Committee, Vice Secretary-General of the SMPC
Standing Committee, and Chairwoman of the Shanghai Committee of
the Jiu San Society.


4. (SBU) She was selected to be a vice mayor of Shanghai in
January 2008. Besides serving as the highest ranking Shanghai
official covering IPR, Zhao is also in charge of sports,
tourism, family planning, literature and history, and the
protection of women's and children's rights. Zhao shows no
ability to speak English, but she is friendly and has a calm
demeanor. Although she has little or no formal training in IPR,
she is conversant on IP issues and regularly participates in IP
conferences. She is soft spoken but engaging. She also appears
comfortable interacting with foreigners.

Vice President of Shanghai CCPPCC Gao Xiaomei
--------------


5. (SBU) Gao Xiaomei was born in 1961 and graduated from Xi'an
Jiaotong University in 1982. She holds an engineering PhD and
is considered a "professor-level senior engineer" in the Chinese
education system. Before joining the Shanghai Municipal
Government, she worked for the Shanghai Building Material Group
Corporation. In December 1987, she joined the China Minge Party
and now is the Director of the party. She has served as a
member of the National People's Congress, the SMPC, and the
Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Congress (SCCPPCC),of which she is currently a
Vice Chairperson. She became the Deputy Director of Shanghai IP
Administration in June, 2006. Although she no longer works in
the IP Administration, she remains an avid supporter of IP
protection and regularly addresses the issue in the SCCPPCC.
Gao can read English but is not confident in her English
speaking abilities. She is outgoing and feels comfortable
speaking with foreigners (in Chinese). She has attended
numerous Consulate functions.

Director General of Shanghai Intellectual Property
Administration Chen Zhixing
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) Chen Zhixing graduated from Shanghai Second Medical
College in 1976. He was an international visiting scholar at
North Carolina State University from 1987 to 1988. In 1997 he
graduated from the Master of Public Administration Program
organized by the School of Law and Politics, East China Normal
University (ECNU) in Shanghai. He served as the Vice President
of Shanghai Second Medical University and worked as a professor
in the Medical Administration Faculty from 1991 to 2003, and as
the Deputy Director of Shanghai World Expo 2010 Bid Office from
2000 to 2003. He has worked as the Director General of Shanghai
Intellectual Property Administration since April, 2003. Chen
concurrently serves as: 1) Vice President of the China
Intellectual Property Research Association; 2) Commissioner of
the Policy and Administration Research Experts Group under the
Ministry of Health; 3) a guest professor of Shanghai Jiaotong
University and the Intellectual Property Institute of Shanghai
Tongji University; and 4) a specially invited consultant of the
Intellectual Property Law Research Center, East China University
of Politics and Law.


5. (SBU) Chen has been the driving force behind the active and
positive cooperation on IPR issues between the Shanghai

SHANGHAI 00000314 003 OF 004


Municipal Government and the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai.
While other jurisdictions in East China closed their doors to
cooperation on IPR following the U.S.-initiated WTO cases
against China in spring 2007, Chen ensured that cooperation in
Shanghai continued without missing a beat. Chen regularly
reaches out to the Consulate, asking for suggestions on how
Shanghai can improve its IPR environment. For a spring 2008
conference on IPR, he asked the Consul General to speak and
propose three or four concrete suggestions to the city at that
event, all of which were later incorporated into the Shanghai
City Government's IPR working strategy. Chen regularly attends
Consulate events and has visited the United States on numerous
occasions. In spring 2009, Chen visited the United States with
a delegation that was organized by the State Intellectual
Property Office, meeting with a host of U.S. IP-related
organizations and USG offices. Chen speaks fluent English and
is outgoing. He has noted that he will soon retire since he is
close to the mandatory retirement age of 65. After leaving the
Shanghai IP Administration, Chen said he has been tapped to take
a seat in the SMPC.

Director General of Shanghai Copyright Bureau Jiao Yang

-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) Jiao Yang was born in August 1957 in Jinan City,
Shandong Province. She graduated from Fudan University in
Shanghai and subsequently served as the party secretary of the
Fudan Communist Youth League in Shanghai. She then became the
Vice Director of the Information Office of Shanghai Municipal
Government and served as the spokesperson of the Shanghai
Municipal Government from June 2003 to February 2008. At the
end of February 2008, she was appointed as the Director General
of the Shanghai Copyright Bureau.


7. (SBU) Jiao is self admittedly new to IPR, but she shows a
strong interest in strengthening copyright protection in
Shanghai. She said that she is very interested in cooperating
with the U.S. Consulate. She noted that she has been to the
United States several time both in professional and personal
capacities; however, she does not speak English. Jiao has a
bubbly personality and seems very confident and comfortable
speaking with foreigners.

Deputy Director General of Shanghai Administration of Industry
and Commerce Chen Xuejun
-------------- --------------


8. (SBU) Chen Xuejun, a native of Shanghai, received his MBA
through a joint program between the Asian International
Open University (Macao) and Shanghai's Jiaotong University. He
also studied at the University of Pennsylvania from May 1998 to
January 1999. Chen currently serves a the Deputy Director of
Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce (in charge of
all trademark-related issues),the Director of the Shanghai
Trademark Association, and Director of the Shanghai
Anti-counterfeiting Alliance. Prior to his appointment, he
worked as the Party Secretary of the Communist Youth League in
Shanghai's Xuhui District, and as the Party Secretary of the
Department of Propaganda of Xuhui District.


9. (SBU) Chen is reserved but friendly. He has strongly
supported cooperation with the U.S. Consulate, and regularly
attends Consulate events. He has also been instrumental in
helping resolve several trademark disputes involving U.S.
companies. Chen understands English, but is reluctant to speak
English. He prefers to speak with English-speaking
interlocutors through an interpreter.

The Next Shanghai IP Administration Director - Lu Guoqiang
-------------- --------------


SHANGHAI 00000314 004 OF 004



10. (SBU) Lu Guoqiang was born in August, 1957. He received
his Bachelor's Degree in Law from Fudan University and a
Master's Degree in Law from the Shanghai Academy of Social
Sciences. Lu previously worked as a senior academic visitor at
Harvard University, the University of British Columbia, and the
Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property. He also worked
as a research associate at Jiaotong University and Fudan
University. Lu Guoqiang has also served as the Vice Director of
the Research Center of the Shanghai High Court; and Director of
the IP Division of the Shanghai High Court. Lu also served as a
member of the Judicial Committee of the Shanghai High Court; and
Vice Director of Shanghai Number 2 Intermediate Court. In
addition, he has worked as an adjunct professor at Tongji
University since 2004. Lu currently serves as the Vice Director
of the Shanghai IP Administration.


11. (SBU) Lu Guoqiang has worked on IP-related cases since the
1980s. He took the lead in applying statutory damages in
infringement cases and combining civil, administration and
criminal IP case trials into one tribunal. His research areas
include: IP law, civil law, civil procedure law, and judicial
systems. His articles have been published in the publication
"China Legal Science" and other magazines based in Hong Kong and
the United States. Lu is by far one of the most knowledgeable
officials on IPR in Shanghai. Not only does he have his finger
on the pulse of the IP administrative system, but he is also
well connected to the academic and judicial community. Lu has
not yet been actively engaged with the U.S. Consulate, but in
spring 2009 conversations with Econoff, he has noted his strong
support for continued cooperation with the USG. Lu will likely
take over the top spot at the Shanghai IP Administration within
the next year, and his nomination for the position likely
reflects Shanghai's awareness of the need to bring yet more
depth and experience to handling IPR policy and IPR issues in
the city.
CAMP