In the escalating battle against pirated American movies, music and other intellectual property in China, Beijing has hit back at a US decision to file a WTO objection against it for copyright abuse, threatening that the move was ill-informed and would harm trade relations between the two countries. The US has decided that it would file a case at the WTO over the contentious issue of widespread copyright piracy as US companies are deprived from billions of dollars each year. Chinese and U.S. officials have been working together to solve the problem in recent year. However, the issue is still unresolved and the US has held the lax attitude of Chinese authorities to work in this direction responsible for this problem. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab has recently disclosed that 80 percent of all counterfeit products seized at U.S. borders still come from China. Reacting on the move, China’s top copyright official has said that the US did not understand the huge efforts Beijing had undertaken to combat the problem. While announcing the case, Susan Schwab has said that the US recognized Beijing’s efforts to crackdown on copyright piracy and asked that the complaints ‘not be viewed as hostile action against China’. On the other hand, Chinese Intellectual Property Office commissioner Tian Lipu has said, ‘By doing so, the United States has ignored the Chinese government’s immense efforts and great achievements in strengthening IPR protection and tightening enforcement of its copyright laws’. Since no major breakthrough was achieved through bilateral talks between the countries, the US authorities decided to seek WTO intervention. Technically, both the countries have been given 60 days time to resolve the issue and in case of failure to reach agreement WTO will be called for arbitration. The latest decision has raised the possibility of angering or embarrassing those in Beijing who may be trying to reform economic policies on the lines of Washington. In addition, many trade analysts are anxious that China might strike back against American imports or cut back on support sought by Washington on other issues, such as diplomatic problems involving Iran, North Korea and Sudan. In addition to it, the move is largely perceived by trade specialists and industry spokesmen as essential to send a signal not only to Beijing but also to Democrats in Congress, who plan even tougher measures against China if the administration does not take action.