How goes the battle against Chinese intellectual piracy? John Taylor, Hoover Institute fellow and former Treasury department undersecretary, joined James Bacchus, chairman of the global trade practice group at Greenberg Traurig, to reassure "Power Lunch" viewers that "we're making progress as we speak."

Bacchus, who also served as chairman of the World Trade Organization's appellate body, told CNBC's Sue Herera that the U.S. must pressure China "on a number of fronts -- and it is." He agreed with China's Vice Premier Wu Yi, who cautioned that "domestic politics shouldn't cloud sound economic decisions" -- and he said that protectionist backlash is a "legitimate fear."

But Bacchus said the two copyright infringement suits filed by the U.S. with the WTO are "not about protectionism -- they're about our rights under the WTO framework." He said they're also rights that China agreed to acknowledge when it signed off on the WTO treaty. He declared that Beijing's cracking down on piracy will only help lower trade barriers, in turn helping China.

Taylor agreed, maintaining that China is "working to enforce the law more" and is "prosecuting more cases." He pointed to moves like Beijing's reported investment in Blackstone as proof that the Pacific country and the U.S. are making "good, steady progress" on currency negotiations, too.