Sitting atop a Harley Davidson motorcycle in a franchise store in Beijing, visiting US Under Secretary for International Trade Franklin L. Lavin said he wished to have one of his own someday.

Lavin described himself as a great fan of the motorcycle, but said being a government employee, he could hardly afford one.

He stopped in the store while on a five-day working visit to China, which is scheduled to end today.

Referring to counterfeiting in China, Lavin told reporters in the motor shop on Saturday that the Chinese Government is taking many effective measures on intellectual property rights (IPR) this year and "we are working closely" to resolve the issue.

He said there is an increasing recognition in China that to develop a strong company, one needs to depend on IPR, reaffirming Washington's willingness to co-operate with China in tackling IPR infringements.

Prior to his trip to Beijing, Lavin visited China's business hub of Shanghai and predicted that China is set to overtake Japan this year as America's third-largest export market.

According to Lavin, US exports to China grew 36.6 per cent in the first five months of the year over the same period in 2005.

Lavin said he shouldered two missions in China this time: to hold policy discussions with different ministry officials and to help promote the business of US companies in China.

Addressing two mergers of US businesses with Chinese companies, Lavin said all the decisions are up to the Chinese Government.

The two cases are US financial giant Citibank's bid for a Chinese local bank and the US-based Carlyle Group's agreement to purchase an 85 per cent stake in State-owned Xuzhou Construction Machinery Co Ltd.

A former senior manager in Citibank, Lavin noted that the two US firms have made a great contribution to Chinese economic development.

Lavin impressed reporters with his fluent Chinese and the knowledge of oriental culture, which he attributed to years of working experience in Asia and his university diploma.

If one knows Chinese, he said, it will surely help him understand the other half of the world and send him on a journey to a great civilization.

Lavin said that he sent his daughter to stay with a Chinese family in Beijing a week ago, and expected her to act as "a little diplomat."

Source: China Daily