WIPO China: IP Empower the Digital and Intelligent Future

On April 13, the 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Asia-Pacific Summit opened in Hong Kong SAR. John Lee, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, and Zhuang Rongwen, Minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China and Chair of the WIC, attended and addressed the Opening. John Lee noted that hosting this event highlights Hong Kong's unique advantages under "One Country, Two Systems" and its status as an international innovation and technology hub. Zhuang Rongwen proposed a four-point initiative: stimulating vitality through innovation, empowering the future with digital intelligence, enhancing inclusiveness for greater benefits, and safeguarding development with security. Global policymakers, digital industry leaders and scholars also shared insights on the digital future in Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

At the Innovation and Application of AI Agent Forum, Liu Hua, Director of WIPO Office in China, pointed out that the Digital Ege innovation wave, represented by AI, is intertwining with the Deep Science innovation wave, profoundly reshaping the global innovation landscape. In particular, the rapid evolution of AI Agents is striking. AI is no longer confined to information integration and decision support; it has begun to demonstrate capabilities in autonomous task decomposition, cross-system collaboration, and closed-loop execution.

Liu Hua emphasized that the Asia-Pacific region is at the forefront of this technological evolution. According to WIPO's 2025 Global Innovation Index, the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou" cluster has leaped to the top of the world's leading innovation clusters, and China's innovation ranking has entered the global top ten for the first time. In the field of Gen-AI, China and Asian countries have shown strong momentum, with six Chinese entities ranking among the world's top ten Gen-AI patent applicants. Meanwhile, the autonomy of AI Agents brings new challenges to the IP system regarding rights attribution, contribution tracking, and legal authorization, requiring a governance framework adapted to the "Tool+" era.

At the Digital Finance Forum, Garrett Levin, WIPO Senior Policy Officer for IP and Frontier Technologies, stated that intangible assets have become the cornerstone of the global economy, accounting for over 90% of corporate value in the SP 500. As AI accelerates the creation of these assets, the IP system is undergoing a critical transition from a legal abstraction to a core financial asset. WIPO is actively enhancing measurement tools and spearheading international initiatives like the AI Infrastructure Interchange (AIII) to address complex issues regarding ownership and valuation of AI-generated outputs. He urged the financial community to engage deeply in the IP finance ecosystem, bridging the gap between the creation and recognition of intangible value through precise measurement and policy alignment, ensuring that IP functions as a robust financial instrument to drive innovation.

Themed "Digital and Intelligent Empowerment for Innovative Development - Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace", the 2026 World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit brought together nearly 1,000 guests from over 50 countries and regions to Hong Kong. The two-day agenda features a Main Forum and the Distinguished Contributors Ceremony to honor internet pioneers. Six specialized forums, covering topics such as digital finance, AI security and governance, and innovation and applications of AI Agents, offer in-depth discussions on global issues.

After the Summit, Liu Hua and Garrett Levin took a field study in Shenzhen, discussing WIPO’s AI Infrastructure Interchange (AIII) with Tencent, UBTECH, and PUDU Robotics.