Trade friction over intellectual property rights is being cited by some countries as a pretext to implement protectionism, a senior Chinese government official said, according to Shanghai Securities News.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce Shen Danyang made the remarks on June 25 at a news conference in response to a new round of patent infringement investigations recently launched by the US International Trade Commission. China's ZTE Corporation was among those being investigated.

"Such IP friction is a kind of growing pain for China's economy and industries and also a barrier that Chinese manufacturers need to cross during the transition from Made in China to Created in China," Shen said.