Some 30 journalists from 19 media outlets from home and abroad including Routers, CNBC Asia-Pacific Channel, Rossiya Segodnya, Kyodo News Service and People's Daily Overseas Edition were recently ushered into China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and its Patent Examination Cooperation Center (Beijing) to take a close look at how the nation's top IP authority practice patent examination and develop IP development policies for the nation. This event, the first of its kind, was organized by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and CNIPA.

Stopping at the trophy room of IP protection, the reporters are impressed by China's unwavering resolve and unambiguous attitude in stringent IP protection by law. At the show room and the trophy room of the examination center at a separate Beijing location, 18 years of the center's history was unfolded in front them. In addition, a patent examiner demonstrated Examination 101, teaching them a crash course of the examination procedure from filing to grant.

After the field trip, CNIPA Deputy Commissioner Gan Shaoning and principals of relevant departments sat down with them for a discussion, anchored by SCIO Deputy Director General and Spokesperson Xi Yanchun of Information Office of the State Council.

Gan gave a brief introduction on IP development in China. China is determined to galvanize its stance in cultivating a climate favoring stringent IP protection by law, earning nods from users from both home and abroad. From this past January to July, foreign applicants in China filed 92,000 invention patent applications, up 8.3 percent on the same period last year, and 149,000 trademark registration applications, up 13.1 percent. From 2013 to 2018, foreign nationals filed 798,000 applications for invention patent with a compound average annual growth of 3.9%; 1.088 million for trademarks, 10.5%. "China attaches great importance to IP protection, not only for creating a good environment for opening up, but more importantly, for its own development. Without strict IP protection, there will be no security for innovation and consequently, no economic and social development," Gan said.

Heads of examination management department of CNIPA and the examination center elaborated on enhancing the quality and efficiency of examination and history of the center. They also shared views with journalists on relationship between patent and business credit system, changes of numbers of patent applications, IP issues in trade frictions between China and the U.S., and how to deal with IP disputes overseas.