WTO empirically does not check china.

“IP protection has been part of the trade deal with China, but everyone I talk to doesn’t believe it will have any effect,” he says. “The Chinese will agree and then continue to cheat. So, we need to think of something beyond bilateral trade deals, and the chance for partnership is out there.” Instead, Lewis says the United States will need to partner with others to prevent Chinese investment or involvement until it changes how it acquires intellectual property and shields its domestic firms from competition. In conversations with representatives from the European Union and other regions, Lewis says they also said they need to tighten their controls on Chinese investment. “The Japanese feel that way. The Australians feel that way. The Europeans are moving in that direction, so China’s behavior is causing concern for everyone,” Lewis says. “That’s an opportunity for the [Trump] administration. They haven’t been able to take advantage of it yet, but this isn’t just the United States.” Ultimately, China must be required to honor its international obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), he adds. “Countries that are members of WTO need to hold China accountable for its lax enforcement of IP rules,” Lewis says. “I don’t see that happening, but that’s what it would take—for people to say this kind of behavior is unacceptable.”