Chinese customs have stepped up efforts to register intellectual property rights (IPR) and crack down on infringing goods, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Thursday.
In 2025, Chinese customs seized 86.42 million pieces of goods infringing IPR and approved 35,200 registration applications for customs IPR protection, Lin Shaobin, head of the GAC's general operations department, told a press conference in Beijing, noting that both figures posted record-high growth.
"In the first quarter of 2026, we approved 6,901 IPR filings, continuing the positive trend and achieving a good start for the 15th Five-Year Plan period," Lin said.
Regarding cross-region law enforcement cooperation among Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao Special Administration Regions, the GAC said that the three regions, given their huge volume of trade in goods, conducted three rounds of joint IPR protection operations in 2025, focusing on trendy toys, apparel, footwear, hats, and electronic products.
The GAC has paid equal attention to domestic and foreign brands in IPR protection. In 2025, IPR holders from 57 countries and regions had their rights and interests safeguarded by the Chinese customs, according to Lin.
"We occasionally invite IPR holders to teach our grassroots customs officers how to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit goods, to ensure that we can accurately identify these products and provide accurate services to them. These services are offered equally to Chinese and foreign companies," Lin said.
Chinese customs strengthen intellectual property rights protection
