valuing intellectual property


This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, from voaspecialenglish.com China says it has passed Germany and become the world’s top exporter. Exports totaled more than one trillion dollars last year. That was down from two thousand eight, but about thirty billion more than Germany. China’s influence in the world has increased with its fast-growing economy. The United States remains the largest economy. China is third and gaining on Japan. Manufacturing has expanded, fueling exports. But China has not imported as much as its trade partners would like. Its policies about valuing its currency and its human rights record have also created tensions. And now there is a new dispute. China is the world’s largest Internet market, but Google says it may leave. The company said it was targeted by a major Internet attack launched from China in December. It says “intellectual property” was stolen and the attackers sought access to Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. At least twenty other large companies in different industries were also targeted. Also, the company said it is no longer willing to censor search results as required by Chinese law. Google says it is still observing censorship laws, but it will hold talks with the government in the coming weeks. Google.cn launched four years ago. Google is estimated to have around a thirty percent share of the search market in China. But that is only about half the share of the Chinese search engine Baidu. Baidu also …