Pushed to improve intellectual property rights in China
It seemed to me that a separate channel for the thicket of economic issues was a good idea. I was never a fan of linkage politics and didn't really believe that threatening the US-China economic relationship in retaliation for differences in the security
field or on human rights would work. We needed to solve economic issues with China because of their centrality to the health of our own and the global economy.
So prevalent were these problems in my meetings in Beijing that, after yet another desultory
conversation about China's horrendous record on intellectual property rights (IPR), Hu had a surprise for me one day. "You're always talking about IPR," he said. "Let me introduce you to the woman who is in charge of making sure that piracy
is prosecuted." In walked Madame Wu Yi, a stoutly built woman standing no more than five feet tall.
