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Business Daily: China and the Cyber-Spies

15/09/2014

China and the Cyber-Spies

BBC World Service - Business Daily, China and the Cyber-Spies

Is China hell-bent on intellectual property theft or is it trying to change things?

Up to $300bn of commercial intellectual property is stolen by Chinese firms every year says the US. A British minister now tells us things are improving. Who's right?

We examine China's record on alleged cyber-espionage. The US alone claims that up to 300 billion dollars worth of its companies' intellectual property is being stolen by Chinese firms, every year. It has even named Chinese military officials who it believes are orchestrating the theft, despite Beijing's denials. But while Washington talks tough, Britain is sending trade delegations to discuss what it calls improved co-operation on patent protection. Who's right on this? We hear from a UK trade minister, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, and from an adviser to the Obama administration, Rodney Joffe, who is a vice-president and senior technologist at the consultancy, NeuStar. 

And separately, we hear from Lucy Kellaway on what she believes is the billions wasted every year by companies on their sales pitches. When everyone bidding for a contract sounds so slick and well-rehearsed, she says, it is impossible to tell between them. So why does anyone bother?

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