WIPO China: WIPO at the Global Digital Trade Expo - Connecting Green Innovation to Global Markets through IP

On September 24, the fifth Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) opened in Hangzhou, with Chinese Premier Li Qiang attending the launching ceremony and delivering remarks. Ms. Liu Hua, Director of the WIPO Office in China, attended the launch ceremony and hosted an International Exchange & Matching Event for IP Trade in Services, together with the 4th Themed Promotion Event for Patent-Intensive Products Exhibition, on the margins of the expo. Two days earlier, the WIPO delegation had travelled to Shaoxing to launch the WIPO GREEN City Acceleration Project. From the GDTE side event to the Shaoxing launch, WIPO's engagement in the Yangtze River Delta brought together green innovation and patent commercialization.

Hangzhou: Linking Patent Commercialization to Global Markets

Highlights of Ms. Liu Hua's remarks

• Premier Li's attendance reflected China's strong emphasis on digital trade and AI.
• AI is reshaping innovation and trade: patents must enter industrial chains and translate into products and services, while global markets require coordinated use of patents, trademarks and industrial designs.
• The WIPO toolkit: global IP databases, TISCs, WIPO GREEN, the PCT, Madrid and Hague systems, and arbitration and mediation services.
• Zhejiang's “tale of two cities”: Hangzhou in the digital economy and Ningbo in advanced manufacturing, both among the world's top 100 innovation clusters this year — patents empowering industrial chains, products connecting global markets.

Keynote by Mr. Peter Oksen

• Green Technology and Research Manager in the Climate Change and Food Security Unit of WIPO's Global Challenges Division, travelling to China specially for the events.
• WIPO GREEN's model: “needs-driven, globally matched, locally deployed” — starting from specific environmental needs, matching through its global database and partner network, and deploying with local partners.
• Recent developments: patent-technology matching, the Green Technology Book, and AI-powered search tools.

Event at a glance

Date: September 24

Jointly organized by: the WIPO Office in China, the Patent Protection Association of China, the Zhejiang Provincial Intellectual Property Office and the Hangzhou Municipal People's Government

Remarks by: Ms. Liu Hua; Mr. Heng Fuguang, Deputy Head of the Patent Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA); Mr. Xie Xiaoyun, Director General of the Zhejiang Provincial Intellectual Property Office; and Ms. Lei Xiaoyun, Vice President and Secretary General of the Patent Protection Association of China (PPAC)

Showcases, order signings, matchmaking and a panel on cross-border rules, AI and IP protection for businesses going global

About 200 participants

Shaoxing: A Yangtze River Delta Testbed for Green Technology Deployment

Project launch

Launched on September 22, Shaoxing became the fifth city in China to join the project, after Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou.

A letter of congratulations from Mr. Edward Kwakwa, WIPO Assistant Director General, was read and presented by Ms. Liu to Shaoxing Mayor Ms. Wu Dengfen.

Getting to know Shaoxing

The delegation toured Jinggong Integration Technology Co., Ltd.'s production facilities, learning about its precision manufacturing and green production practices.

Industrial fabric: from the China Textile City in Keqiao to the pearl industry in Zhuji, modern textiles to green chemicals, traditional and emerging industries intertwine.

Highlights of Ms. Liu Hua's remarks

• China has 25 clusters in the WIPO GII 2026 Innovation Cluster Ranking, two in Zhejiang.
• The “Digital Age” and “Deep Science” waves are converging, and Shaoxing stands at their intersection — where great things can be achieved.
• Fertile ground: complete industrial chains, rich application scenarios, strong demand for green transformation in textile and dyeing, and locally emerging carbon-reduction technologies.

Mr. Peter Oksen: Shaoxing as both user and provider

• A strong textile industry with urgent green transformation needs, alongside locally developed carbon-reduction technologies.
• Two-way expectations: Introducing proven green technologies into Shaoxing's industries while sharing its decarbonization experience with the world.
• The WIPO GREEN team will provide continuous support to turn the initial needs-and-solutions list into tangible outcomes.

Partner voices

• Mr. Xie Xiaoyun: strengthen coordination across provincial, municipal and county levels to develop replicable experience.
• Ms. Wu Dengfen: focus on modern textile and green chemical industries, leveraging the WIPO GREEN platform.

Event at a glance

• Cooperation agreement signed
• Initial list of green technology needs and solutions released
• Project website launched
• Over 100 participants from IP authorities, enterprises, research institutions and universities

About the Global Digital Trade Expo

Jointly hosted by the People's Government of Zhejiang Province and China's Ministry of Commerce, the GDTE is a national-level international exhibition dedicated to digital trade. Themed “Meet the AI Future at the GDTE,” this year's edition drew over 50,000 registered professional buyers from 163 countries and regions and more than 2,000 exhibiting companies — over one third of them AI-related.