China has consistently ranked first in the world in terms of the number of invention patent applications for many years
Having 60% of global artificial intelligence patents and approximately 2/3 of robot related patents
According to the data of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, China has 5.32 million domestic effective invention patents, becoming the first country in the world where the number of domestic effective invention patents has exceeded 5 million. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, the number of valid invention patents in China continued to grow, with 16 high-value invention patents per 10000 population. As of 2025, China has consistently ranked first in the world in terms of the number of invention patent applications, making it a true patent powerhouse.
It took 31 years to reach the first 1 million valid invention patents in China, and about 19 months to reach the fifth 1 million.
Patent creation provides strong support for China to accelerate the realization of high-level technological self-reliance and self-improvement. By the end of 2025, the number of high-value invention patents in China will reach 2.292 million, of which 70% belong to strategic emerging industries. For example, China holds 60% of the world's artificial intelligence patents, with robot related patents accounting for about two-thirds of the global total. The PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) international patent application for green and low-carbon technologies has ranked first in the world for many consecutive years, becoming a powerful footnote to China's accelerated development of new quality productivity.
The strength of patent protection and the benefits of transformation and application have significantly increased. At present, the average examination period for invention patents in China has been shortened to 15 months, which is the fastest international level under the same examination system. The social satisfaction with intellectual property protection has been increasing year by year. Since the 14th Five Year Plan, banking and financial institutions have issued over 900 billion yuan in intellectual property pledge loans. A large number of high-value patents for 'off shelf, on shelf' have been tested in practical applications.
Protecting intellectual property is protecting innovation. As of the end of January 2026, the number of valid invention patents held by foreign applicants in China has exceeded 922000. More and more foreign-funded enterprises have become witnesses to the continuous improvement of China's intellectual property system, fully demonstrating their confidence in China's intellectual property protection.
The development of intellectual property in our country has gone from scratch, from weak to strong, and from multiple directions to excellent. Patent thinking, copyright awareness, and brand culture have deeply penetrated people's hearts, and the social atmosphere of respecting knowledge and encouraging innovation is becoming increasingly strong. Today, as we move from a major intellectual property country to a strong intellectual property country, our determination to protect intellectual property rights has become even stronger, and the vitality of innovation and creation will also be further unleashed.