"Patents can protect you internationally"
Unfortunately, this is not true and the Chinese Government hardly to never respects international patent rights. It's the most dangerous place on earth to bring your technology! From domestic theft to corporate I have watched the Chinese theft from stocks to actual privet companies or their tech portfolio, take and take and take while their government BS's the world saying they're doing one dam thing about it. Or lets just say this:, whatever the rate of theft is, it's constantly on the bad news end so, the good is hardly heard, if there is any.
while they're growing further away from communism into an capitalistic society, there's one constant that remains.. Communism means to share whatever with everybody, and thieves are using that ideology to get rich in China. .
The greater majority of businessmen are all linked into politics or politically structured connections.
Catch em if you can and even so, they''ll clean you out without repercussion from their feds or local agency. . ;)