Today's story about Chinese police raiding a factory in Shenzen seems to show that the authorities are beginning to take trade laws seriously, as they will have to as their economy matures. I got a flavour of the local attitudes to such matters when I visited the astonishing instant city about four years ago. Our group arranged to meet at a cetain restaurant and our guide advised us: 'Don't just give the taxi driver just the name of the place. You also have to give the street and the number of the building.'

The reason, he explained, was that as soon as a  restaurant became a success in Shenzen, others of the same name sprang up. 'If you don't give the precise address, the driver won't know which one you want.'

Perhaps the Chinese will simply confuse themselves into respecting the law.