China to align IP strategy with tech innovation, high-quality growth

China's intellectual property work in the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) will focus on high-quality development and keep pace with technological innovation, an official from the National Intellectual Property Administration said on Wednesday.

IP work during the period will be closely aligned with the country's broader development goals, with clear priorities set across the entire chain -- from creation and protection to application, management, services, and international cooperation, said the official.

The national strategy will also aim to create new growth drivers by providing stronger IP and tech support for key priorities like new quality productive forces, core tech breakthroughs, and competitive industries.

"China will emphasize high-quality development in its IP work by refining indicators such as the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people, and introducing more scientific metrics that directly reflect IP's contribution to economic growth. The design of indicators and key tasks will ensure a smooth transition from the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), with a phased and coherent approach to implementation," said Rui Wenbiao, spokesman and deputy head of the China National Intellectual Property Administration.

The administration also aims to keep pace with technological change. As the new tech revolution unfolds, China will update its IP rules in key fields like AI, big data, and algorithms, and work to improve the protection and utilization of IP.

Greater cross-regional and cross-agency coordination is on the agenda, and the country will seek a stronger voice in shaping international rules and standards, all with the aim of stimulating innovation and securing an early competitive edge.

China to align IP strategy with tech innovation, high-quality growth

China has accumulated more than 1.7 million valid invention patents in strategic emerging industries by the end of June this year, said the spokesman for the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Wednesday.

Spokesman Rui Wenbiao, also the deputy director of the administration, said at a press conference in Beijing that China will continue to improve its intellectual property rights protection system for industry.

The intellectual property protection system in emerging fields is constantly innovating. We have released the Guidelines for Patent Applications Related to Artificial Intelligence and revised the Patent Examination Guidelines, adding a chapter on 'AI and Big Data'. By the end of June, China, excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, had 1.746 million valid invention patents in strategic emerging industries, an increase of 4.3 percent from the end of last year. The 65 approved intellectual property operation centers include 48 ones involved in emerging and future industries such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, aerospace, and 6G, accounting for more than 70 percent of the total," said Rui.

"Next, we will focus on the development and practices of different industries in emerging fields, provide better authorization and rights confirmation models for their development, and define clearer rights ownership, protection scope and protection forms to promote the high-quality development of emerging and future industries," he said.

China's invention patents exceed 1.7 mln in strategic emerging industries