China Daily:

In China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, the "number of high-quality invention patents per 10,000 people" was set as a major social and economic development goal for the first time. How is the goal achieved now? What does it indicate? Thank you.

Hu Wenhui:

Thank you for your questions. I would like to invite Mr. Ge Shu to answer the questions on high-value invention patents per 10,000 people.

Ge Shu:

Thank you for your questions. As Mr. Hu just noted, by the end of 2021, the average ownership of high-value invention patents on the Chinese mainland reached 7.5 patents per 10,000 people, up 1.2 over the previous year. The number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people aims to objectively evaluate China's innovative development and guide the transformation of intellectual property work to become an quality-oriented one. The number is an anticipatory goal. How it is achieved primarily depends on how market entities play their role. According to statistics of 2021, China's scale of high-value invention patents expanded steadily, and the structure of high-value invention patents was further optimized. This ensured a good start to the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). It can be shown in the following aspects:  

First, the reserve of patents for high-tech and strategic emerging sectors was continuously strengthened. By the end of 2021, the number of invention patents for high-tech and strategic emerging sectors was 792,000 in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), up 114,000 over the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). Industries' independent innovation capacity strengthened continuously.

Second, the number of valid invention patents effective for a long period of time increased rapidly. By the end of 2021, the number of valid invention patents effective for more than 10 years was 323,000 in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), an increase of 27.7% over the previous year, contributing 11.9% of the national GDP, up 0.6 percent point over the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

Third, innovators' capability of going global improved continuously. By the end of 2021, the number of China's valid invention patents possessing overseas patent family rights was 83,000, an increase of 21.8% over the previous year. Enterprises were the main innovators and owned nearly 90% of them.

Next, the CNIPA will focus on implementing the plan of building a major intellectual property country and implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), make our targets more quality-oriented and value-oriented, fully unleash the creativity of the society, and vigorously strengthen the quality of intellectual property creation, so as to use high-quality intellectual properties to facilitate high-quality economic and social development.

Thank you.