China's intellectual property protection has accelerated over the past five years, said David Mahon, executive chairman of Mahon China, an investment management company.

"China's IP law has accelerated in the last five years. We took the case 15 years ago, [the process is] very slow and complicated. But now, as long as you documented and registered things correctly here, the legal protection is actually very high... Within five to six months, you can get a judgment in China, while it takes up 12 months or longer in the U.S.," Mahon said.

The National Intellectual Property Administration handled 77,000 patent law enforcement cases in 2018, an increase of about 15 percent from a year earlier. The country has also significantly increased infringement costs through amendments of patent, copyright and trademark Laws. Punitive compensations are generally raised to five times the damages.

China's emphasis on IP protection has been verified internationally, as the World Intellectual Property Organization ranked China No.17 in its most recent Global Innovation Index, five places up from a year ago.

Mahon acknowledged that China should go further in protecting IPR, but adding that "to be relative, how was it five years ago or 10 years ago? The trajectory is extraordinary for a developing country."