China and the United States agreed to boost cooperation on intellectual property rights (IPR) during annual trade talks which concluded on Monday.

The two sides will increase exchanges and boost cooperation on fighting network piracy, law-enforcement against IPR crimes and preventing bad-faith trademark filing, among others, according to a Chinese press release after the 26th Session of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT).

The meeting, held from Saturday to Monday in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, was co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Trade Representative Michael Froman.

The two sides also agreed to boost cooperation on food security, increase exchanges on surplus capacity in the aluminum and steel industries, work together more closely to fight illegal fishing, illegal logging and wildlife trafficking.

According to the release, China and the United States also pledged to provide strong protection for business secrets to promote innovation and fair competition.

The officials also talked on IT purchase in the banking sector, medicine, aviation, and export restrictions.

Both sides gave positive evaluations for the outcome of the annual meeting, said the release.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2015)