China has amassed 6.318 million valid invention patents by the end of 2025, marking an 11.1 percent increase year on year, according to a white paper released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Thursday.
The document, titled "Intellectual Property Protection in China 2025," highlights the nation's rapid progress in building a more robust IP protection framework. Public satisfaction with IP protection hit an all-time high of 82.81 points, driven by stronger judicial and administrative enforcement.
Over the past year, the country's overseas IP dispute response guidance platform helped Chinese businesses recoup 2.75 billion yuan (about 400 million U.S. dollars) in losses, demonstrating the growing effectiveness of its IP support mechanisms.
China's valid invention patents top 6.3 million
The oil price shock triggered by the war in the Middle East could reduce euro-area GDP growth by around 0.4 percentage points over the first year following the shock, according to a European Central Bank (ECB) study released on Wednesday.
Since the outbreak of the war in late February, disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and reduced oil supply from the Middle East have pushed crude prices sharply higher, said the study.
It added that the increase in oil prices triggered by the current shock has so far been larger than that observed after the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, although it remains smaller than the rise seen during the Gulf War in the early 1990s.
The ECB said higher oil prices are likely to weigh on the euro-area economy through rising production costs, lower household purchasing power, weaker global demand and heightened uncertainty.
Based on historical evidence, the ECB estimated that a geopolitical oil supply shock that raises real oil prices by 10 percent could reduce euro-area GDP growth by around 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points in each of the three years following the shock.
The study found that the impact on investment is likely to be more pronounced than that on private consumption. According to the ECB, heightened geopolitical uncertainty may prompt firms to delay expansion plans, equipment purchases and hiring decisions, dampening investment activity and amplifying the impact on economic growth.
The ECB noted that the euro area's dependence on oil has declined over time, but the response of investment to geopolitical oil supply shocks appears to have remained broadly stable.
The study cautioned that the overall impact of the current shock remains highly uncertain and will depend on the magnitude and persistence of the oil price increase. A prolonged period of elevated oil prices, broader supply-chain disruptions or spillovers into gas markets could further intensify downward pressure on euro-area growth.
Middle East oil shock could cut euro-area growth by 0.4 percentage points in first year: ECB
