Question

One of the articles I asked you to read for this module (CNBC, 2/26/19) focused on the issue of relatively weak intellectual property rights in China and the resulting impact on foreign direct investment. Why do you think that intellectual property rights play such an important role in 21st-century international trade, not just regarding foreign direct investment, but also the flow of goods and services? Please explain your thoughts and the rationale behind them in 150-250 words, and also responds to at least one other student's post.

Answer 1

Intellectual property rights protection(IPRP)has caused great concern in china,especially since the introduction of the Belt and Road(B&R)initiative.The chinese government has increased investments to the countries along the B&R,most of which are developing countries with high investments risks.using the panel data of china's outward foregin direct investment(OFDI) in 121 countries from 2003 to 2017 the sustainable relationships between IPRP of host countries and china's OFDI has been analyzed.from the world wide perspective,the stronger the IPRP of the host country,the greater attraction to china's OFDI.while the IPRP of the countrys along the B&R has a nonlinear U- shaped effect on china's OFDI,which is related to the complex environment of the countries.when the IPRPof the B&R countries is within a certain range ,china's OFDI is biased toward a country with lowe IPRP,and when the IPRP exceeds a certain range,the china's OFDI is biased towards a country with high IPRP .Moreover the market size, natural resources and endownment and political environment of the host country are influential upon china's OFDI as well. what deserves our attention is that china's OFDI is more biased towards countries with poor political conditions,which can be related to the enterprise type and that most of the large multinational enterprises in china are state-controlled,resulting in investmenyt decisions largely reflected by the national political goals rather than simple market targets.

Intellectual property protection is crutial in fostering international trade.Businesses of all nations now operate in an increasingly competitive worldwide marketplace. Strong domestic and international protection of patents and trademarks is vital to the sucess of U.S business in that market place. In the past,the united states greatest competitive advantages were the ideas that led to its industrial and technological progress.Today ,the united states needs to encourage and protect those ideas in the international market place.

International trade is a major factor in the health and stability of our economy.Total trade in goods and services now stands at twenty-two percent of the gross national product.One out of every eight U.S manufacturing jobs is related to the exports.Each billion dollars in exports supports some 25000 jobs.Even considering inflation,the volume of U.S exports and imports has more than doubled since 1967,up to more than $680 billion in 1982.

The steps the U.S patent and trademark office is taking will improve protection for intellectual property worldwide. This, in turn, will strengthen trade opportunities for all nations and increase access of developing nations to the new technology so essential for their continued development.