China has vigorously protected the intellectual property rights (IPR) of foreign-invested companies in recent years through a raft of laws, policies and campaigns, said Gan Lin, vice minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation, at a press conference Wednesday.

Gan Lin, vice minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation, speaks at a press conference in Beijing on April 26, 2023. [Photo by Xu Xiang/China SCIO]

Gan explained that in recent years, the Foreign Investment Law, together with its implementation regulations and the action plan for safeguarding foreign-invested companies' IPR, has established a unified framework for the promotion, protection and management of foreign investment.

In 2021, an outline for the 2021-2035 period was released, aimed at building a country strong in IPR. Additionally, a plan for protecting and applying IPR during the 14th Five-year Plan period (2021-2025) was introduced, further enhancing IPR protection for foreign-invested companies through top-level strategic design.

In January of this year, China issued measures to further support the establishment of research and development (R&D) centers, as well as R&D and innovation activities funded by foreign investment. Moreover, the country launched a campaign to protect foreign-invested companies' IPR and combat infringements.

The Chinese government has placed significant importance on IPR protection for foreign-invested companies, vigorously protecting foreign-invested companies' legitimate rights and interests and treating all businesses registered in China equally to create a market environment characterized by quality services and fair competition, Gan said.

Data showed that, as of the end of 2022, the number of valid invention patents held by foreign entities in China reached 861,000, a 4.5% increase year on year. The figure encompasses 58,000 foreign companies, an increase of 2,000 over the previous year. The number of valid registered trademarks owned by foreign entities in China rose to 2.03 million, up 5.9% year on year.

China continues to be a hot pot for foreign investment with its sound economic outlook and constantly improving business environment, Gan said, adding that China's actual use of foreign capital grew by 6.3% last year to 1.23 trillion yuan.