When China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, passed a new Foreign Investment Law at the end of the Two Sessions in March, it pledged to "build a market environment of stability, transparency, predictability and fair competition" for foreign companies. Since then, more and continuous steps have been taken by China to offer a more favorable market environment, and strengthen intellectual property rights (IPR) protection.

Its latest step to enhance IPR protection focused on amendments to two IPR laws on trademarks and trade secrets, which enhanced the upper limit of compensation amount for IPR infringements from three million yuan (450,000 U.S. dollars) to five million yuan (740,000 U.S. dollars).

"This shows the determination of China to punish the trademark infringers," Zhang Nan, a researcher from the College of Comparative Law at the China University of Political Science and Law said. An increase of confidence among the trademark right holders can be expected.

With continuous efforts, China has witnessed much progress in IPR protection. According to a white paper released by the Supreme People's Court on April 22, courts at all levels accepted 334,951 IPR cases in 2018, up by 41.2 percent from 2017. In addition, by 2018, the Chinese mainland had a total of 1.62 million invention patents and 19.564 million effectively registered trademarks.

"The latest measures can create a good environment for creativity and innovation," Zhang said, "Intellectual property right holders will feel more secure and encouraged to focus on their creative activities." By taking this step, China will attract more high-quality foreign investment, and inspire further innovation in technology, products and management.

In fact, innovation has been one of the key pillars of China's high-quality development. The "Made in China 2025" strategy, a 10-year blueprint, has striven for innovation in cutting-edge industries. Some outstanding examples are the in e-commerce and artificial intelligence (AI) field. The mobile payment has made people's daily life more convenient as they don't need to take cash when buying things.

And China has played an increasingly important role in the AI field. In 2017, China launched a plan on AI development, aiming to be the world's premier AI innovation center by 2030. And recent years have normalized machines with the capability of synthesizing human voice and having smooth conversation with people. According to a study by The Boston Consulting Group in December 2018, 85 percent of Chinese companies are active players in the field of AI.

"China has transformed itself from being seen as 'the world's factory' to becoming a hive of technology innovation, with ideas that leapfrog the West," British newspaper The Telegraph said.

What's more, the support of IP protection will also enhance the prosperity of international trade. According to Zhang, IP transactions play an important role in international trade, and thus protecting IP means safeguarding international trade. Foreign companies will also be inspired to participate in the Chinese market, as it can offer a level playing field for both Chinese and foreign companies. The trade frictions between China and other countries can also, to some extent, be mitigated.

The China-U.S. trade friction is a case in point. The frictions, followed by tit-for-tat tariffs that have cost the world's two largest economies billions of dollars, are now alleviated with the two countries conducting several rounds of negotiation.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrived in Beijing on April 30 for a new round of negotiation. However, the two sides' difference on topics including IP still needs to be resolved, holding back fruitful negotiations.

In Zhang's views, these measures are able of easing the tension between the two countries and help to progress the trade negotiation as strengthening IP enforcement satisfies the IP right holders in both China and the United States.

"The fruit of bilateral cooperation of IP protection will not only benefit the two nations but also benefit and provide better life quality for the whole of mankind," Zhang concluded.