Hu Wenhui:

Friends from the media, good morning. Thank you for your consistent attention and support for the work concerning intellectual property.

In 2021, all government bodies and departments involved in intellectual property work across China followed the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implemented the guiding principles of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and all plenary sessions of the 19th CPC Central Committee, and earnestly carried out the CPC Central Committee and the State Council's decisions on building China's strength in intellectual property as well as the 14th Five-Year Plan. We strive to pursue progress while ensuring stability and continue advancing reform and innovation. As a result, China's intellectual property work in 2021 has improved in terms of both quality and quantity, and all tasks and targets in the sector have been fully accomplished, providing strong support for people's pursuit of a better life. Based on all categories of statistics, our work in 2021 has the following four characteristics:

First, the innovation capacity and vitality of market entities have been further stimulated. As of the end of 2021, the number of domestic enterprises with valid invention patents amounted to 298,000, an increase of 52,000 over the previous year. These domestic enterprises had a total of 1.91 million valid invention patents, up 22.6% year on year, 5 percentage points higher than the national average growth rate. Specifically, valid invention patents held by high-tech enterprises reached 1.21 million, accounting for 63.6% of the total held by domestic firms. This reflects the growing creativity and innovation capacity of China's market entities.

Second, the pledge financing of patents and trademarks has seen a further increase in scale and become even more inclusive. The total amount of patent and trademark pledge financing in 2021 amounted to 309.8 billion yuan, and the number of financing projects in the field reached 17,000, benefitting a total of 15,000 enterprises. All three factors have increased about 42% year on year. Specifically, inclusive loans under the 10-million-yuan limit have benefitted 11,000 enterprises, accounting for 71.8% of the total firms benefitted. This fully demonstrates the inclusiveness of patent and trademark pledge financing in helping micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. 

Third, patent reserve in digital economy and medical sector has been further improved. Among the 35 fields of technology classified by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), IT methods for management, computer technology and medical technology rank as the top three fields in China with the fastest growth rate of the number of valid patents, up 100.3%, 32.7% and 28.7%, respectively, year on year. This shows China's growing capacity in patent reserve of core technologies, which will provide stronger support for the country's industrial upgrading and better benefit people's health and daily life.

Fourth, foreign enterprises have stronger confidence in China's protection of intellectual property. In 2021, a total of 110,000 invention patents were approved and authorized for overseas applicants in China, up 23% year on year. Overseas applicants registered a total 194,000 trademarks in China, up 5.2% year on year. Among them, authorized invention patents and registered trademarks applied for by U.S. enterprises increased by 32.1% and 17.3%, respectively. The number of intellectual properties held by overseas applicants in China keeps growing fast, indicating overseas enterprises' strong confidence in China's intellectual property protection and business environment.

These are the four characteristics of data on intellectual property in 2021. Specifically, the overall statistics on the creation, protection, utilization and relevant services of intellectual property in the aspects of patents, trademarks, geographical indications, and layout designs of integrated circuits by the end of 2021 are as follows:

First, patent. The number of valid invention patents from China reached 3.597 million, while the number on the Chinese mainland stood at 2.704 million. The number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people reached 7.5, up by 1.2 from the previous year.

In 2021, the number of international patent applications filed in China via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) hit 73,000, while the number on the Chinese mainland reached 68,000. A total of 54,000 patent reexamination cases and 7,100 declarations of invalidation cases were closed. 

Second, trademark. The number of valid registered trademarks reached 37.24 million.

In 2021, China received 5,928 international trademark applications using the Madrid System. China has reviewed 164,000 trademark opposition cases, as well as 383,000 trademark review cases. 

Third, geographical indication (GI). China has approved 2,490 GI products and has seen 6,562 GIs registered as collective trademarks and certification trademarks. 

Fourth, integrated circuit layout design. A total of 52,000 integrated circuit layout designs were certificated.

Fifth, intellectual property application, protection and services. To date, China has established 57 intellectual property protection centers and 30 fast intellectual property service centers. The National Advisory Center for Overseas Intellectual Property Dispute Settlement has been established, with a total of 22 branch centers at the local level. 

In 2021, a total of four batches of 815,000 abnormal patent applications were identified. The withdrawal rate of the first three batches reached 97%. China has cracked down on 482,000 filings of malicious trademark registration.

Statistics show that, before excluding the price factor, the added-value of China's patent-intensive industries reached 12.13 trillion yuan in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, accounting for 11.97% of GDP, 0.35 percentage points higher than last year.

By the end of 2021, the "one window" system for patent and trademark business was made available in all 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities). The number of intellectual property information public service institutions at the provincial level reached 52, and that of city-level comprehensive intellectual property information public service institutions reached 104.

That is all for my introduction. We would now like to answer your questions. Thanks.