China has rejected the US government decision to place Beijing on the "Priority Watch List" for intellectual property rights violations and said Washington had failed to recognize China's progress, state media reported, citing a senior official of the State Work Group on IPR protection. Zhang Zhigang said China arrested about 2,600 people in an eight-month-long crackdown on violations and expressed "deep regret" over Washington's decision. Thirteen other nations are on the "Priority Watch List" of the perceived worst offenders. Zhang said China has handled 24,189 trademark infringement cases and seized more than 167m pieces of illegal audio-video products and pirated products since last September.