BEIJING: China will tighten controls over intellectual property to provide better opportunities for foreign investors, the commerce ministry said on Friday.

The government’s crackdown on intellectual property violations will focus on trademark registration abuse and business secret theft, Wang Shouwen, a vice commerce minister told a news conference in Beijing.

Wang also said China’s IP protection was “not perfect” as a developing country.

China expressed “strong dissatisfaction” on Monday with the US launch of an investigation into China’s alleged theft of US intellectual property, calling it “irresponsible”.