China is currently preparing the outline for its next national intellectual property (IP) strategy for the 2021-2035 period. The country has been hailed for protecting local and foreign companies and, by extension, bringing benefits to China and other countries and regions. 

"The building of an infrastructure to cope with the demand of a burgeoning economy that is increasingly adding value in terms of knowledge and intangible assets. It's a remarkable thing that we should acknowledge. And It's been extraordinarily well done in my view," according to Francis Gurry, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Reports have shown that patent filing at China's IP administration had grown 11.6 percent year on year to reach 1.54 million in 2018, accounting for almost half of the global total.

In terms of patent filing, in 2017, 53,000 applications for water treatment-related patents were submitted in China. Bluestar is one of the companies in this area leaving its mark, after creating a system that transforms industrial wastewater into water that's purer than most tap water.

"For every new project, we have to prepare a tailored package of technologies. And every time we do so, we apply for a patent. Taking one of our zero-emission projects as an example, we applied for seven patents for that project alone," said Ji Chunhong, Chief Engineer of Beijing Bluestar Cleaning Co. Ltd.

Another example is Nuctech. This company has developed more than 200 products for the security industry and it's now supplying equipment for customs authorities, airports and major international sporting events in more than 100 countries and regions. So far, it has applied for more than 5,500 patents in some 50 countries and regions.

"As a high-tech company, patents are extremely important for our product development, innovation and market development. They protect our entire operation, and our results," said Chen Wei, Senior Vice President of Nuctech.