On the morning of April 27, 2023, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council met with Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Daren Tang at Ziguangge of Zhongnanhai.

Li Qiang said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of China’s cooperation with WIPO. Noting the congratulatory letter President Xi Jinping sent to the 50th Anniversary of Cooperation between China and the WIPO and Publicity Week Event days ago, Li Qiang said it fully demonstrated the great importance China attaches to the work in the intellectual property rights (IPR) field. Li Qiang expressed the hope that the two sides will take the anniversary as an opportunity to elevate bilateral cooperation to new heights.

Pointing out that China always attaches great importance to IPR protection, Li Qiang said China has formulated and implemented a national intellectual property strategy, and intensified its efforts to make the country strong in IPR. In particular, China has achieved significant progress in establishing and improving relevant legal systems, developing specialized institutions and a quality workforce, enhancing the entire society’s awareness of respecting and protecting intellectual property, and handling important infringement cases in accordance with the law. China is an active builder, important contributor, and staunch defender of the international intellectual property system.

Li Qiang stressed that intellectual property systems are a catalyst for encouraging innovation and an accelerator for economic development. Noting the development of the digital economy and such new technologies as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, Li Qiang said the work in the IPR field faces many new issues and challenges. China is ready to work with the WIPO to strengthen cooperation, jointly address new issues and challenges, and actively contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to fostering a favorable ecology for the creation, protection and application of intellectual property rights, so as to enable humanity’s knowledge and wisdom to better serve all. China will, as always, support the WIPO in playing a greater role in the multilateral system and promoting innovative development across the globe.

Daren Tang said that over the past 50 years, China has made historic achievements and progress in intellectual property, rising to 11th place in the Global Innovation Index. This is rooted in the 5,000-plus-year-old Chinese civilization and the great importance the Chinese government attaches to intellectual property and innovation. It’s fair to say that the intellectual property strategy China formulates has set a fine example. WIPO and China have extensive and in-depth cooperation in such areas as innovation, technology and digitization. WIPO will step up cooperation with China in the future, to promote innovative development in the world and common development of all countries.