Today, almost all companies own intellectual property. It could be in the form of photos, drawings, technological methods, product components, logos, brand names, consumer profiles, etc. Usually refers to unique and innovative creations of the mind (David Ho). The variety of intellectual property is wide and covers many aspects. In addition to the common types of intellectual property such as patents, trademarks and copyrights there is another, relatively unusual and difficult to determine: trade secret. Unfortunately, nowadays cases of intellectual property theft are not uncommon. However, most developed countries have made great efforts to improve their intellectual property protection policy; however, sometimes it does not have a large effect. As for emerging economies, the problem of intellectual property infringement is even worse. The history of relevant legislation in developing countries is very short; furthermore, in some cases it is advantageous for such countries to support inadequate intellectual property legislation in order to steal this type of property from developed countries with impunity. Such cases raise the issue of intellectual property (IP) infringement at a political level. In this work we considered one such case that occurred between Chinese and US companies and which caused not only large losses incurred due to theft by the American company, but also caused some political disputes between these countries. Theoretical context The concept of trade secret The definition of trade secret varies depending on the jurisdiction. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (2013), in general, it is any confidential business information that provides a company with a competitive advantage. The Uniform Trade Secret Act (19... half of the document... the rights of foreign businesses are not being protected. The failure to rely on the rule of law is creating a risk for US businesses doing business in China This case has attracted so much attention because it highlights the risks faced by US companies operating in a country with a level of IPP legislation far below global standards. While two countries have a great opportunity to work together successfully, such regulatory inconveniences create significant obstacles for this work, especially in cases where the potential risks are as high as the benefits. In this way, the Chinese government has the opportunity to show its attitude towards intellectual property theft with real actions and not just words and words. If Chinese leaders respond with appropriate actions to address this and other intellectual property cases, it would certainly signal positive prospects for future U.S.-China cooperation.