BEIJING - Medical representatives from China and the United States vowed on Tuesday to strengthen cooperation for enhanced medical Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection.

Medical professionals in China and the US will together strive for an improved IPR protection system for biomedicines, and provide more safe and effective drugs for patients in both countries, according to a joint statement signed by the China Pharmaceutical Industry Research and Development Association and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America on Tuesday.

The two sides have decided to hold a pharmaceutical industry summit periodically.

For years the US has been China's biggest trade partner in pharmaceuticals.

In 2009, the trade volume of pharmaceuticals between China and the US reached a record high of $9.8 billion, 2.7 percent of the Sino-US total trade volume, according to statistics from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products.