WIPO Director General Daren Tang visited Dunhuang, Beijing and Wuxi in China from November 1-6, 2026 where he met with Premier Li Qiang and other senior officials and attended events centered around copyright and culture as well as patents and technology.
Talks with Premier Li in Beijing included recent developments in the Chinese and global IP landscape, the future of IP in the age of AI and the future directions for WIPO’s work. The Director General welcomed China’s support for helping IP be a catalyst for growth, development, prosperity and collaboration.
The Director General also met with other senior officials in Beijing including the newly appointed Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) Chen Fuli, Minister of State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) Liu Guiping, Prosecutor General Ying Yong of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Cai Wei.
Engagements in Dunhuang focused on copyright and other IP issues connected to culture and heritage. The Director General addressed the opening of the 2026 International Copyright Forum and the Ninth Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo. He also met with Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee (NCAC) Jiang Hui as well as senior provincial and municipal officials. WIPO and NCAC also launched a pilot project linking copyright, folk arts and cultural tourism in Chongqing and Jincheng, Shanxi Province.
In Wuxi, the Director General attended the 15th China International Patent Fair, held in conjunction with the 26th WIPO-China Patent Award Ceremony, where he provided keynote comments on the importance not just of IP protection but also IP commercialization and the challenges and opportunities that the global IP ecosystem will have to address as a result of AI. He also met with key provincial and municipal officials.