China has a lot riding on the ongoing court showdown over Viagra. While it's clear that many of the country's drug makers would like to continue turning out cheap copycats, the fledgling drug development industry needs a clear signal that intellectual property rights will be protected. Every week, we see new evidence of the growing role that China plays in manufacturing and testing new therapies. Given the right kind of support from the government, China can emerge as a major player in the global biopharma industry. And major companies like Pfizer can play a big role in helping China maintain one of the most spectacular economic development stories in the world. At a growth rate of 20 percent a year, China is on track to become the world's seventh largest pharma market by 2009. The stakes are high for everyone in this case. - John Carroll