Long the music-piracy capital of the world, China is changing, or so hopes the global music industry.

The group that represents the world's major music companies today praised the Chinese government's efforts to stamp out CD and DVD piracy. Citing recent reports, Chinese authorities have shut six CD and DVD plants that were cranking out illegally copied CDs and DVDs and halted production at eight other facilities, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said.

"I hope that the recent activity represents a promising signal that China is finally taking seriously the need to take meaningful enforcement action against piracy," IFPI Chairman John Kennedy said in a statement. "These reports of concrete actions against disc plants represent a step in the right direction."

But piracy in China remains a huge problem for the music and movie industries. More than 85 percent of the CDs and DVDs sold in China are pirated. Sales of pirated discs were worth $400 million in 2004 and cost the movie industry $896 million in lost sales in Asia in 2004.

"To make a real difference, this must be the start of a sustained campaign rather than a sporadic offensive," Kennedy said. "There needs to be a continuous, consistent program of enforcement, including inspections and closure of plants, and criminal prosecution and deterrent penalties for pirates."

China is now second to only Japan as the biggest legal music market in Asia, with sales worth $212 million in 2004, according to the IFPI.

Earlier this month, China's parliament, the National People's Congress, launched a Web site to publicize the issue and individual cases.