Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following opening statement, as prepared, during a Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet hearing on "Intellectual Property and Strategic Competition with China: Part I:"

"Mr. Chairman, a little over 20 years ago, the free world undertook an experiment and allowed the People’s Republic of China to become part of the World Trade Organization, granting that nation permanent access to some of the most important markets in the world.  Among other changes, this concession meant that China and Chinese companies had permanent access to our patent and trademark systems on the same terms as our own nationals.  

"I voted against China’s entry into the WTO because I had serious concerns about the impact that globalization would have on American workers—a concern that, unfortunately, has largely been borne out.  

"I was also skeptical that many of the promised benefits of free and open trade with China—such as democratic liberalization and improved human rights for its people—would come to pass.  Sadly, this concern too, has largely been vindicated.

"Today, we see a government in China that has become increasingly authoritarian, using a vast array of technology to track its citizens and subjecting many of its people—most especially the Uighur population—to shocking human rights abuses.

"On the economic front, China’s entry into the free-market system has failed to encourage the PRC to obey the rules and customs that govern the international economic order.  Rather, it has simply enabled the Chinese government to manipulate those rules to its advantage.

"For example, a requirement that, in certain high-tech sectors, U.S. companies work with a Chinese counterpart has become one of many vehicles that the PRC has used to force technology transfer to their nation.  This sometimes means requiring U.S. companies to disclose key aspects of their technology to obtain licenses to operate within the PRC, among others.  Unfortunately, there are also many documented instances of the PRC using outright illegal means to access U.S. technology, including cyberespionage and trade secret theft.  

"In sum, while the PRC was welcomed into the free market system, it has failed to honor many of the hallmarks of good global citizenship.  This is a serious challenge to a system that has historically relied, in large part, on assumptions that the players will act in good faith.  But with the announcement of a series of national policies aimed at making China a technological leader in all important emerging areas of innovation, we cannot afford to be blind to the illicit and questionable means that the PRC is using to leapfrog the rest of the world.  

"Their actions create an uneven playing field for other nations, their people, and their companies, compounded by research showing that China’s patent system and courts do not always treat foreigners equally.

"This is certainly a broad topic worthy of our Subcommittee’s extended attention.  While we are primarily focusing on trade secrets and patents today, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that on the copyright front, piracy in China also continues to do damage to the U.S. economy and to hurt the American creative community.  I hope that we will be able to explore this and other topics, such as competition in the artificial intelligence space and cryptocurrency, in the future.

"I want to express, however, that our need to have a serious conversation about the behavior of the Chinese government should in no way be interpreted to call into question the patriotism and the substantial contributions of our many citizens of Asian descent.  We have seen all too often how the lack of nuance in our rhetoric can turn into suspicion and violence against our own people.

"Not only is this morally wrong, but it also tears apart our national fabric—which plays right into the hands of our adversaries.  It is with a united front, and the full empowerment of our tremendous human capital, that we in the United States have been the world leader in innovation for so long.

"We must embrace and expand on that great advantage of ours, in addition to doing the careful legal work of this Subcommittee, to ensure that our intellectual property laws and policies meet this moment of global competition.

"I thank the witnesses for their participation in today’s important hearing, and I look forward to their testimony.

"With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back."