January 23, 2011
With reference to intellectual property, the New York Times told readers that, “China has a well-earned reputation for theft.” Intellectual property rules are defined by each country. China can only engage in “theft” if it has set up rules that is violating. In many cases, its laws on intellectual property do not provide clear protection to U.S. firms, therefore they may not be engaging in anything that can be described as “theft.”
This article also misinforms readers about the relative size of the Chinese and U.S. economies. It told readers that China’s per capita income is less than $4,300. This is the measure of income on an exchange rate basis. The more realistic basis for comparison is China’s GDP measured on a purchasing power parity basis, which is $7,400 a year – 75 percent higher.
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