Chinese applicants filed the highest number of international patent applications in the world through Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 2020, reaching 69,000, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) said on Sunday.

China granted 530,000 invention patents in 2020, exceeding the target of the country's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), according to Shen Changyu, the head of CNIPA.

"The average ownership of invention patents in 2020 reached 15.8 patents per 10,000 people. China was the top user in the world of the PCT with about 69,000 applications pending," said Shen.

The review for examining intellectual property (IP) patents was made more efficient by shortening the average processing time by 2 months to 20 months, according to Shen, while the review time of trademark registrations was shortened by half, so international cooperation on IP has also been stepped up.

"President Xi Jinping and European Union leaders signed the China-EU agreement on geographical indications. China participated in the negotiations on intellectual property with RCEP. We also renewed the Belt and Road IP cooperation deal with the World Intellectual Property Organization," added Shen.

Efforts to strengthen IP protection saw some 42,000 patent infringement complaints handled last year in China, as more Chinese companies are encountering a rising number of IP disputes overseas. The administration has also established 10 centers across the country to help deal with such disputes.

Shen further mentioned that China will provide more services for Chinese enterprises going global by strengthening its mechanism for handling IP disputes overseas.