WIPO China: ADG Kenichiro Natsume Attended the 2025 Zhijiang Business Environment Forum

Hangzhou, November 9 - With the theme of "IP Protection and Innovation Development in the Era of AI", the 2025 Zhijiang Business Environment Forum was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Vice Governor Zhang Yanyun of Zhejiang Province, Vice Commissioner Rui Wenbiao of China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), and Assistant Director General Kenichiro Natsume of WIPO gave opening remarks. Director General Xie Xiaoyun of Zhejiang IP Office hosted the Opening Ceremony. Director Chen Hongbing of Madrid Operations Division of WIPO delivered a keynote speech.

Mr. Natsume stated that Zhejiang, as both a cradle of enterprise and a frontier of innovation, has fully demonstrated the deep integration of technology, innovation, and intellectual property in the era of artificial intelligence. While this integration process drives industrial advancement and urban transformation, it also brings new IP challenges. WIPO is committed to ensuring that the global intellectual property system evolves in step with innovation through global dialogue mechanisms, policy toolkits, and international IP service systems, so that creators, innovators, and societies worldwide benefit from the opportunities of technology. WIPO looks forward to working closely with enterprises and institutions in China and Zhejiang to jointly build IP systems that are future-ready, inclusive, and globally aligned.

More than 150 participants from over 20 countries and regions attended the Forum, including the representatives from WIPO, CNIPA, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), the Intellectual Property Department of Hong Kong SAR, and the Economic and Technological Development Bureau of Macao SAR, the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), the International Trademark Association (INTA), foreign embassies and consulates in China, local IP offices, as well as universities and enterprises home and abroad.

Promotional Events on WIPO’s Global IP Services in Support of High-quality Development of AI Companies

On November 7 and 10, WIPO and Zhejiang IP Office co-organized the “Promotional Events on WIPO’s Global IP Services in Support of High-quality Development of AI Companies” in Shaoxing and Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Mr. Chen Hongbing gave opening remarks. Business Manager Fabio Scappaticci of Madrid Operations Division, Team Head Cecile Chatel of PCT Operations Division, and invited expert Lv Guoliang delivered presentations on how to help companies go abroad through WIPO’s Madrid, PCT and Hague Systems. Over 200 representatives from Zhejiang IP Research and Service Center, and enterprises in Shaoxing and Hangzhou participated in the events.