Top Chinese officials met in Beijing on Tuesday to mark the 10th anniversary of China's "National Intellectual Property Strategy" and expand discussions on measures to stop violations of intellectual property rights. Officials said the number of patent applications in China has risen in the last decade, and the government is looking to improve intellectual property (IP) protection for businesses operating in China and abroad. 

A joint conference between China's top ministries was held at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital, where state-level officials gathered to discuss how to improve the country's protection of IP and encourage innovation and development in the Chinese market.

Yan Junqi, vice chair of National People's Congress Standing Committee (2013-18), said China has made great progress since the "National Intellectual Property Strategy" outline was proposed in 2008 and the plan has encouraged the development of the Chinese economy.

"In the past ten years, all departments have continuously contributed to the reform of IP measures and have worked towards improving awareness, management, application and implementation of IP rights. This shows the plan has helped foster remarkable results regarding encouraging innovation and providing strong support for the development of China's social and economic sectors," said Yan.

According to China's State Intellectual Property Office, from 2014 to 2017, the number of patent applications was over 3.5 million, and application approval rates continue to rise. The number of patent applications for new inventions also rose to 1.3 million, with a year-on-year growth rate of 14.2 percent.

Regarding the cracking down on counterfeiting, the latest data show that China has handled over 20,000 IP infringement cases in the past year. The government also confiscated more than six million pirated items and nearly 200,000 batches of exports and imports. 

With China slowly reaping progress from its implementation of property right measures, officials say they will further strengthen management and monitoring efforts as the number of patents continues to rise.

"Last year, patent applications for new inventions and ownership reached over one million. Over the years, we have made the patent application approval and evaluation process more efficient and have increased our investigation and monitoring efforts to crack down on illegal activities, all to provide more support and incentives for enterprises to operate in China and to expand their businesses abroad," said Shen Changyu, director of State Intellectual Property Office.  

The Inter-Ministerial Joint Meeting System for the implementation of the National Intellectual Property Strategy was established under China's State Council in 2016. Its goal is to coordinate and offer guidance to the drafting and implementation of IP right policies and measures.