If Arnold Schwarzenegger had any doubts about the extent of his fame, they were swept away by the army of fans who mobbed him on the streets of Beijing today.

The Governor of California is in China to lead the fight against pirated DVDs - but must have been aware that most in the crowd would only have known him from the counterfeit versions of his films that are widely available in the Chinese capital.

The crowd briefly separated Mr Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, from their security detail after leaving an event to promote the Special Olympics, which were founded by Ms Shriver's mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and will next take place in Beijing in 2007.

Mr Schwarzenegger, star of the Terminator series and Conan the Barbarian, arrived in Beijing this morning for a six-day visit to promote Californian products and encourage Chinese officials to crack down on the piracy of copyrighted music, movies and software.

The US Government estimates that Chinese copywright infringement costs American entertainment and technology companies billions of dollars every year, with fake software in the Asia-Pacific region costing $8 billion (£4.6 billion) last year alone.

Hollywood films are available on DVD in Beijing for less than £1 within days of their release in the US and industry analysts say that at least 90 per cent of software CDs and movie DVDs sold in China are pirated. The abuse of intellectual property rights contributes to the widening trade gap between America and China, an imbalance that last year reached $162 billion (£93 billion) in China's favour.

As part of his campaign against Chinese piracy, Mr Schwarzenegger, the self-styled "Governator" of California who last week suffered a comprehensive defeat in his attempt to reform state government, will make a television advert with Jackie Chan, his fellow action star.

Mr Schwarzenegger's tour is one of many high-profile trips to China by American leaders in the coming days. Rob Portman, the chief US trade official, arrived in Beijing today to push for a lowering of Chinese farm subsidies. Mr Portman will be joined by former President George Bush later this week before President Bush arrives on Saturday.

On his trip, Mr Schwarzenegger will promote trade at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, inspect the port of Shanghai and attend the premiere of the latest Harry Potter film. He will finish his visit in Hong Kong with a celebration of "California Grown" food products.

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