CHICAGO, September 3 (Xinhua) -- Three American judges who visited China many times and were impressed by China's progress said Thursday that China would make greater economic and social achievements in the coming years.

During the U.S.-China Intellectual Property Protection Cooperation and Research Forum, held Thursday at the John Marshall Law School, three American judges who served as panelists at Judicial Panel, told Xinhua their first-hand experience in China during an exclusive interview.

James F. Holderman has been the Chief Judge at United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois since 2006 and had been a judge for more than 20 years. He was struck by the beauty of the country and the city when he was in Beijing just before the Olympics. "I had the good fortune of being in Beijing during that time and was wonderfully impressed. " He told Xinhua.

Collins T. Fitzpatrick, Circuit Executive for the Federal Courts in the Seventh Circuit, said that he was mostly impressed by Chinese people's eagerness to learn whenever they can and the level of knowledge they had.

Fitzpatrick said, "It was very eye-opening to me to see that, not only in Beijing, but in Shanghai and Xi’an, and other parts of the country."

David Coar, United States District Court Northern District of Illinois, visited Beijing and Shanghai before and during the Olympics. He was in awe with the rapid growth he saw in China. Coar said, " I have never seem so many building cranes all my life. I am also very impressed by the energy of the Chinese people and the cultural aspects in Beijing."

Regarding Chinese IP system, all three judges agreed that China is making great progress and has successful cooperation with the United States in IP area, and China should be doing what it is exactly doing right now to improve its IP system.

Holderman said, "Chinese are making substantial strides in connection with the resolution of IP issues. I think it is a credit to the Chinese government for the steps that they have taken. "

All three judges had visited China during recent years and participated in the IP cooperation program between the John Marshall Law School and China State Intellectual Property Office.

All the three judges served as panelist Thursday morning on the Judicial Panel during the U.S.-China Intellectual Property Protection Cooperation and Research Forum to share with attendees their knowledge and experience in the U.S. court. 
                                                                                                             Source: Xinhua