Tom Duke has been appointed as the U.K.'s first Intellectual Property Attache and will begin his tenure by focusing on fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with China that allows both sides to defend and leverage their intellectual assets.

Duke will be stationed at the British Embassy in Beijing and will serve as a valuable resource for British businesses seeking advice on IP protection while operating in the Asian nation. Officials appear determined to establish a cooperative framework that will provide strong enforcement of IP rights and allow corporations to prosper in a fair business climate.

"The Chinese market presents a great opportunity for U.K. businesses - in 2010 trade between the two nations was worth an estimated $66 billion," noted Intellectual Property Baroness Wilcox. "We need an efficient global intellectual property system where businesses have the confidence to trade in growing markets."

Although China has been promising intellectual property reform for years, the nation has been mysteriously unable to use its vast digital security and censorship resources to root out websites selling pirated U.S. media, according to the Financial Times. To address this issue and begin to chip away at the trade deficit between the two countries, American leaders may be wise to take more proactive measures, similar to their British counterparts.