China is entering a new stage of high-quality intellectual property development, as innovation quality and economic impact continued to improve in 2025, according to a State Council Information Office briefing in Beijing on Jan 23.
Officials said 2025 marked the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and a key milestone in China's modernization drive, with high-value invention patents reaching 2.292 million nationwide, growing 2.2 percentage points faster than overall invention patents.
Innovation clusters remained globally competitive, with Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou ranking first worldwide, while Beijing and Shanghai–Suzhou placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the World Intellectual Property Organization's 2025 Global Innovation Clusters ranking.
The China National Intellectual Property Administration emphasized quality-oriented reform, phasing out quantity-based patent subsidies, strengthening pre-application evaluation, and promoting high-value patents with stronger market potential and technological substance.
By the end of 2025, high-value invention patents accounted for 43.1 percent of all valid domestic invention patents, up 2.9 percentage points from the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), indicating continued structural optimization.
To support enterprises expanding overseas, China strengthened protection of foreign-related intellectual property, establishing 99 guidance platforms nationwide and overseas networks in 11 countries, providing more than 4,800 consultation services in 2025.
Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), authorities will focus on legal safeguards, coordinated governance, efficient use of resources, and public services, aiming to foster a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized intellectual property environment.
