China has consistently ranked first in the world in terms of the number of invention patent applications for many years!Having 60% of global artificial intelligence patents and approximately 2/3 of robot related patents!

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According to the data of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, China has 5.32 million domestic effective invention patents, making it the first country in the world to have more than 5 million domestic effective invention patents. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, the number of effective invention patents in China continued to rise and broke through the barriers, with 16 high-value invention patents per 10000 people; As of 2025, the number of invention patent applications has been ranked first in the world for several consecutive years, and the PCT international patent application volume has won the global crown for six consecutive years. The annual turnover of technology contracts involving patents exceeds one trillion yuan. China has become a true patent power and has written a development answer sheet for the new era with innovative strength.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee has placed intellectual property protection in a more prominent strategic position, providing direction and guidance for the development of the intellectual property industry. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: “Strengthening intellectual property protection is the most important content of improving the property protection system, and it is also the greatest incentive to enhance China’s economic competitiveness.” Following this important guidance, China’s intellectual property industry has overcome difficulties and steadily moved forward, achieving a historic leap from scratch, from weakness to strength, and from multiple directions to excellence, and has embarked on a unique path of intellectual property development with Chinese characteristics.

These 5.32 million patents are never simply a combination of numbers, but an accumulation of quantity and a leap in quality. They are the inevitable result of the continuous optimization of China’s innovation ecosystem and the full burst of innovation vitality.

From the perspective of innovation layout, 519 national level intellectual property public service institutions are scattered throughout the country, achieving full coverage at the provincial level, providing full chain and all-round service support from application, agency to transformation for innovative entities such as enterprises and research institutions, making the path of innovation smoother and farther; From the perspective of innovation mechanisms, the application end, agency end, and review end work together and efficiently link up to open up a “green channel” for innovative achievements to move from the laboratory to the market, promoting the development of intellectual property in China from pursuing quantity growth to steadily shifting towards a new stage of high-quality development that prioritizes both quantity and quality.

Nowadays, patent thinking, copyright awareness, and brand culture have deeply rooted in people’s hearts. The social atmosphere of respecting knowledge, encouraging innovation, and protecting creativity is becoming increasingly strong, becoming an inexhaustible driving force for innovation and creation, so that every innovation effort can receive the due return.

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What does 5.32 million patents mean?

The scale of time witnesses the speed and thickness of development. 31 years and 19 months – these two seemingly disparate numbers mark the leapfrog development of the number of valid invention patents in China: reaching the first 1 million, we have spent 31 years exploring and steadily advancing; And reaching the fifth one million units in just about 19 months demonstrates the strong momentum and vigorous vitality of innovation in China in the new era. This profound transformation reflects the iteration of China’s development philosophy and the leap in innovation capability, and witnesses the historic transformation of China from a “world factory” to an “innovation laboratory”.

Patent creation is providing solid support for China to accelerate the realization of high-level technological self-reliance and self-improvement. By the end of 2025, the number of high-value invention patents in China will reach 2.292 million, with 70% concentrated in strategic emerging industries, becoming the core force in cultivating new quality productivity and promoting industrial upgrading. In the field of cutting-edge technology, China’s innovative achievements continue to lead the world: holding 60% of the world’s artificial intelligence patents, deeply integrating intelligent technology into various industries; The number of robot related patents accounts for about 2/3 of the global total, laying a solid technological foundation for the intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry; The PCT international patent applications for green and low-carbon technologies have ranked first in the world for consecutive years, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to the global green transformation. These impressive achievements are vivid footnotes to China’s accelerated development of new quality productivity.

As of the end of January 2026, the number of valid invention patents held by foreign applicants in China has exceeded 922000, and more and more foreign-funded enterprises have become witnesses to the continuous improvement of China’s intellectual property system. Foreign companies such as Nokia and Qualcomm have expressed that China’s continuous measures to strengthen intellectual property protection and optimize the business environment have strengthened their confidence in increasing investment in China and are willing to share the dividends of China’s innovative development. Nowadays, China has established intellectual property cooperation relationships with more than 80 countries and regions, and the patent examination highway covers 84 countries. It is gradually growing from a participant in the global intellectual property governance system to a rule maker and leader.

From scratch, from weakness to strength, and from multiple directions to excellence, every step forward in China’s intellectual property industry embodies the perseverance and dedication of innovators, demonstrating the confidence and strength of the country’s development. Today, patent thinking, copyright awareness, and brand culture are deeply rooted in people’s hearts, and the social atmosphere of respecting knowledge and encouraging innovation is becoming increasingly strong. China is steadily moving from a major intellectual property country to a strong intellectual property country, and the determination to protect intellectual property is more firm. The vitality of innovation and creation will also be further unleashed.

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