Director General Wraps Up Official Visit to China, Pledges Support for China’s Efforts to Strengthen its IP Ecosystem
May 1, 2023
WIPO Director General Daren Tang concluded a four-day official visit to China on April 28, 2023 during which he shared WIPO’s new vision of intellectual property (IP) and welcomed the Government’s continued commitment to using IP and innovation to grow.
In talks with senior Government representatives, Mr. Tang reiterated WIPO’s vision that IP can be a powerful catalyst for job creation, investments, business growth and economic and social development for every country.
The Director General shared this view with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who also emphasized the strategic importance of IP for the development of his country. The Prime Minister recalled President Xi Jinping remarks in October 2022, where he emphasized that high quality growth and innovation will remain the core of China's modernization process.
President Xi Jinping sent a message to an event on April 26 marking the 50th anniversary of China’s relationship with WIPO reaffirming his country’s commitment to using IP for innovation driven development. He said China gives high priority to IP protection as part of China’s focus on high quality development.
At the same event, Mr. Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of the State Council, said the Government is fully committed to ensuring protection of IP rights and that protection of IP is intertwined with the protection of innovation. He said that the local IP ecosystem will continue to evolve to nurture a culture that celebrates and values IP.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Tang said China has been an active participant in the multilateral IP system over the past 50 years, pointing out that China has a long and rich history of innovative activity going back thousands of years.
Mr. Tang congratulated Chinese leaders on this impressive journey of innovation-driven development as part of its latest chapter in this longer journey. He said the achievements of China in the area of IP was not by chance, but part of a sustained strategy over decades.
These achievements have come about not just because of the innovative potential of the Chinese people but also because of the recognition of IP’s strategic importance by China’s top leadership combined with consistent policy execution over decades.
WIPO Director General Daren Tang
Bilateral Meetings
In addition to the meeting with the Prime Minister and the Vice Prime Minister, Mr. Tang met with Chief Justice Zhang Jun, President of the Supreme Court, who provided an overview of the work of the judiciary to support the innovation-driven development strategy. He underlined the work of the specialized IP courts which since establishment four years ago have heard some 13,000 cases.
Mr. Tang welcomed the work of the courts and said the administration of IP disputes and enforcement of IP rights is an essential part of the development of the innovation ecosystem. He pledged WIPO’s support in using the Organization’s arbitration and mediation services to resolve IP disputes in China.
In a meeting with Mr. Shen Changyu, Commissioner of China’s National IP Administration (CNIPA), Mr. Tang reviewed WIPO’s ongoing support to CNIPA in the further strengthening of China’s IP ecosystem and pledged the Organization’s continued support to CNIPA.
Commissioner Shen highlighted the growing workload of CNIPA which employs 17,000 patent examiners and 1,100 trademark examiners among its 22,000 strong staff body. He said that every year, China sees 11 million university graduates, with over 40% being science students. Today, there are over 300 million people in China who have completed higher education. This has all contributed to China’s progress in the IP field, he said.
In a meeting with senior officials at China’s copyright agency NCAC, including with Mr. Zhang Jianchun, Vice Minister of NCAC - Mr. Tang reiterated WIPO’s vision of an inclusive IP system that serves the interests of creators on the ground as well as all countries. The officials reaffirmed China’s commitment to establishing strong copyright protection.
With Mr. Shen Haixiong, President and Editor in Chief of the China Media Group (CMG), Mr. Tang discussed the challenges and opportunities posed by the changing technological landscape. The acceleration in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) had created opportunties but also new challenges for media companies like CMG who are witnessing an increase in piracy of their original content.
In discussions with Mr. Luo Wen, Minister responsible for the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), Mr. Tang pledged to continue to support the work of SAMR. The Minister said SAMR plays an important role in ensuring that an effective enforcement framework is in place. Mr. Tang said the work of SAMR as the market regulator is critical to support the protection of IP.
The Director General and Mr. Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology, took stock of bilateral cooperation and agreed to intensify collaboration to further strengthen the IP ecosystem in China.
Mr. Yin Li, Secretary of the Beijing Municipality, provided an overview of Beijing’s efforts to become an innovation center and requested WIPO’s support in training SMEs and other innovators on using the IP system for business growth as well as arbitration and mediation services. Mr. Tang shared WIPO’s focus on SMEs and said that WIPO would be happy to explore ways to support SMEs and on the ground inventors in Beijing.
In a meeting with senior officials at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, including with Minister Jin Zhuanglong, Mr. Tang said WIPO is ready to work with the Ministry to strengthen their efforts in support of creating an enabling IP ecosystem for enterprises – small and large – in China.
Vice Minister Xu Xiaolan and her team discussed a series of concrete areas where WIPO support would be helpful, in particular in encouraging SMEs to make full use of the IP system. In addition, WIPO’s dispute resolution services to resolve cybersquatting cases in the .cn domain and other arbitration and mediation services were appreciated.
Mr. Tang also met with Mr. Qin Gang, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The top Foreign Ministry official supported the leading role played by WIPO in realizing the vision of a balanced IP ecosystem that is a catalyst for economic, social and cultural development and stressed the importance of multilateralism.
The Director General also met with Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ma Zhaoxu to discuss the future cooperation program with WIPO.
In addition, Mr. Tang met with a group of women innovators at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCIPT) to talk about their work and discuss the importance of greater participation of women in innovation. Mr. Tang's visit to China coincided with World Intellectual Property Day which this year was themed "Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity."
At CCIPT, Mr. Tang also met with Chairman Ren Hongbin for discussions on how WIPO could support CCIPT’s efforts to promote IP protection among industry and other institutions in China. Mr. Tang also recalled that it was a delegation of four persons from the CCPIT who established the relationship between WIPO and China when they first visited WIPO in 1973.
During the visit, Mr. Tang formalized WIPO’s continued support to strengthening China’s innovation and creativity ecosystem through the signing of memoranda of understanding/intent with several ministries.
Lastly, Mr. Tang also visited the WIPO Office in China in Beijing to meet with colleagues to discuss their work in China.