The protection of intellectual property rights is important to the country's sustainable development and must be enhanced, says an article in Global Times. The following is an excerpt:

During a recent interview, Long Yongtu, secretary-general of Boao Forum for Asia, said he wanted to improve the protection of intellectual property in this country. "Without strong protections for intellectual property rights (IPR) in our country, the Chinese will not have enough incentives to be innovative," he said.

IPR protection is an integral part of a country's development. As one of the most developed countries of the world, the United States has a tightly knit system for protecting intellectual property. As former US President Abraham Lincoln said: "The patent system added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius."

That is true. Only with reliable protections will the fruits of innovation and creativity be safe, and further innovation encouraged. Otherwise, people will see no point in being creative and will simply copy from each other.

In the current environment, many Chinese businesses rely heavily on the intellectual property from other countries for their commercial survival. Cell phone manufacturers and computer makers have to pay 20 or 30 percent of the revenue they earn from their products to overseas patent holders. Textile factories do not have their own brands or designs that are accepted in the international market even though Chinese businesses account for 24 percent of the global textile trade.

All these facts suggest that it is of the utmost importance to the country's sustainable development to have our own patents on technology and design. And a comprehensive network for protecting intellectual property is a precondition for achieving this goal.

As a developing country, China should be no less concerned than developed countries about these issues. We should also try to take timely steps to protect our own intellectual property as well as our wealth in the future.