Patents, recipes and the mysteries of China

I was discussing PET with a bean counter mate the other day, and his first question was in relation to IP and China. I imagine this has been discussed at length on this board, but it is an extremely long conversation to trawl through, and understanding most patents, (let alone one that relates to water chemistry) is not part of my skill set. I've had a look at IP Australia 2013362883: Slurry for treatment of oxyanion contamination in water, but my hair starts falling out halfway through page 1.

My questions relate to the IP and chemistry:

- what is stopping someone from China taking PET's IP for themself, given the colourful reputation of IP protection and enforcement there, (other than some apparently well-connected people on the board and share registry);

- can a person with the right knowledge use the recipe in the patent to replicate Phoslock or are there special processes and/or ingredients that are kept under wraps;

- how much longer is PET entitled to protection from the patents - my reading is to Dec, 2032?

The world of patents is quite mysterious to me, water chemistry more so, not to mention the business and legal mysteries of China.

Thanks in advance to any who can shed light or point me in the direction of some lay explanations of these points.

Reg