On April 16th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the operation of the national economy in the first quarter of 2026. Mao Shengyong, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, attended and introduced the relevant situation.

Mao Shengyong introduced that investment in intellectual property products has grown rapidly. In recent years, the National Bureau of Statistics has established a statistical system for investment in intellectual property products based on international practices and China’s actual conditions. The fixed assets investment data released by the National Bureau of Statistics every month includes investment in intellectual property products.

Data shows that by 2025, the total investment in intellectual property products in China will exceed 6.9 trillion yuan; In the first quarter of 2026, the growth rate of investment in intellectual property products will reach 7.9%, accounting for more than 12% of all fixed assets investment.

The growth of investment in intellectual property products is an important measure in recent years to vigorously implement the innovation driven development strategy and develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions. Efforts have been made and practical results have been achieved, “said Mao Shengyong.

Behind the impressive data is the result of multiple factors driving it together. Under the guidance of the innovation driven development strategy, China’s intellectual property investment has maintained rapid growth, mainly due to the support of the following aspects:

1. Strong policy support: The country’s encouragement of innovation is truly implemented

Nowadays, the country places great emphasis on innovation and intellectual property rights, and from the national level to the local level, concrete policy support is being introduced, which is not just talk without action. The country has an overall deployment such as the “Outline for Building a Strong Intellectual Property Country”, which clearly states the need to support the development of intellectual property rights; Local governments have also introduced supporting policies, such as providing subsidies to enterprises that apply for patents and register software copyrights, encouraging them to transform patents into actual products.

In addition, there are many policies that companies can directly benefit from, such as the additional deduction of research and development expenses. Simply put, the money spent by companies on research and development can be offset when paying taxes, reducing tax payments and lowering innovation costs for companies; There is also intellectual property pledge financing, where companies can use their patents and software copyrights as collateral to obtain bank loans and solve funding difficulties in research and development and production;

In addition, there are patent open licenses that allow companies with patents to share their technology, which can not only generate profits but also drive innovation in the entire industry. The combination of these policies has truly given enterprises a “reassurance pill”, making them dare to spend money and willing to invest in research and development and intellectual property, which is also the core guarantee for the sustained growth of intellectual property investment. Mao Shengyong, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, also clearly stated that the growth of intellectual property investment is the actual result of China’s vigorous implementation of innovation driven and accelerated development of new quality productive forces.

2. Industry upgrading: Without innovation, enterprises lack competitiveness

Nowadays, all industries are upgrading and replacing, and it is no longer the era where we could survive by relying on scale and low prices. Especially in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, low altitude economy, commercial aerospace, and high-end equipment, the development speed is particularly fast and competition is becoming increasingly fierce.

From the data, it can be seen that investment in China’s high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 5.2% and investment in high-tech service industry increased by 12.3% in the first quarter, which is much faster than the overall investment growth rate. This indicates that everyone is transforming towards high-end industries.

For enterprises, in order to avoid being eliminated and seize the market in competition, they must engage in technological innovation – either developing new products or improving production technology, and these innovative achievements need to be protected through intellectual property rights. For example, applying for invention patents to protect core technologies, registering software copyrights to protect self-developed software, building brand IP to enhance product awareness, and protecting technical secrets from being stolen by competitors. Nowadays, intellectual property is no longer a “dispensable” thing, but a “talisman” and “competitiveness” for enterprises. Whether it is a large enterprise or a small and medium-sized enterprise, in order to achieve long-term development, they must lay out their intellectual property, which also forces enterprises to continuously increase related investment.

3. Capital recognizes: Intellectual property is the core asset

With the increasing emphasis on innovation, the value of intellectual property is becoming more and more recognized, and the capital market is starting to vote with real money, recognizing that intellectual property is the core asset of enterprises.

In the primary market, where investment institutions invest in unlisted companies, hard tech companies with core patents and technological barriers are more likely to be favored by investment institutions, with higher financing amounts and enterprise valuations; For example, many biopharmaceutical companies can obtain billions of dollars in financing to continue their research and development because they have core patents. In the secondary market, also known as the stock market, listed companies with well-established intellectual property layouts and core technologies have more stable stock price performance, and investors are more willing to hold them for the long term.

The favor of capital has enabled more enterprises to see the value of intellectual property and be willing to invest more funds in research and development and layout of intellectual property, forming a virtuous cycle of “enterprises investing in research and development → acquiring intellectual property → attracting capital investment → further increasing research and development”, and providing strong impetus for the growth of intellectual property investment.

4. More comprehensive statistics: the contribution of innovation is truly ‘counted’

In the past, the investment in research and development, software development, and database purchases by enterprises was difficult to reflect in economic data, and people did not know how much of these innovative investments were and how much value they could generate.

Later, with reference to the prevailing international standards and in combination with the actual situation of China, the country established a special statistical system for investment in intellectual property products, which formally included the investment in research and development, computer software, databases, mineral exploration, original literary works, etc. of enterprises into the accounting scope of fixed assets investment.

In this way, the previously “invisible and incalculable” innovation investment has become concrete data that can be counted, compared, and assessed. For example, the 7.9% growth rate and 12% investment proportion in the first quarter were calculated through this statistical system. The improvement of the statistical system not only enables the country to more accurately grasp the situation of innovation and development, formulate policies that are more in line with reality, but also allows enterprises and the whole society to clearly see the value of intellectual property, further driving more capital investment in the field of intellectual property and promoting the sustainable development of the entire industry.

In summary,

The continuous increase in intellectual property investment, from national policies to industrial transformation, from capital markets to enterprise innovation, is not only an inevitable trend of the times, but also a clear sign of China’s economy moving towards high-quality development. In the future, with the deepening of the innovation driven strategy, the continuous improvement of the intellectual property protection system, and the further release of market value, intellectual property investment will continue to maintain a strong momentum and become the most dynamic and promising growth engine of the Chinese economy.

For every enterprise and innovator, valuing intellectual property, laying out intellectual property, and operating intellectual property is to seize future opportunities and win more long-term development space.

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