Bloomberg Business
June 15, 2019
Forced or Not? Why U.S. Says China Steals TechnologyIt’s one of the most contentious fronts in the U.S.-China trade war: so-called forced technology transfers. The term refers to a spectrum of practices through which foreign companies that want to operate in China are induced to part with their know-how. That may be simply through a requirement to form a joint venture with a local firm, or more insidious bureaucratic methods like overly intrusive inspections. The Chinese government dismisses allegations of strong-arming as “utterly unfounded,” describing any cooperation as “voluntary” and “based on market principles.” A 2018 report by the U.S. Trade Representative quoted one ex-White House official as saying the transfer requirements are voluntary in the same way a business proposition from Vito Corleone in “The Godfather” was.
( Text of the article... )The Reference Shelf (Bloomberg Business)
- The U.S. Trade Representative’s March 2018
report on matters including China’s alleged forced technology transfers, and its November
update.
- QuickTake explainers on
intellectual property, China’s new
investment law and
Made in China 2025.
- Update to the IP Commission Report on
theft of U.S. intellectual property.
- Bloomberg Opinion’s Anjani Trivedi says carmakers show how the issue of forced transfers is “
overstated.”