Red Faces at China Talks Hotel over 'Amornini' Store

U.S. officials in China for trade talks could be forgiven for doubting Beijing's claims it is doing all it can to stamp out piracy. Especially if they happened to spot the "Amornini" store in the hotel hosting the talks.

The clothing store, whose bird logo closely resembles that of Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani, is just meters away from the hotel conference center where top U.S. and Chinese officials were holding their annual trade talks on Monday.

The expensive-looking shop, along with others in the Jinjiang Hotel in the southwestern city of Chengdu, is closed due to security for the senior American and Chinese officials attending the two-day talks, which began Sunday.

Vice Premier Wang Qishan, China's top official on financial affairs, told the meeting that the Asian country had made "positive progress" addressing U.S. concerns, which include piracy, market access and the value of the Yuan.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. government delegation -- led by U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk -- did not immediately respond to Agence France Presse requests for comment on the store.

But it underscores the challenges faced by the thousands of foreign companies struggling to protect their intellectual property rights in a country where such laws are blatantly ignored -- even under the noses of senior officials.