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Foreign companies in China are emphasizing key industries such as semiconductors in their patent portfolios, a Chinese official said on Tuesday, calling for more research efforts by domestic firms.

As of end-2022, companies from 95 countries and regions held 327,000 invention patents in the core industries of the digital economy in China, of which digital product manufacturing accounted for 62.7 percent, Ge Shu, director of the strategic planning division of China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) told a press conference in Beijing.

These companies are emphasizing key industries such as semiconductors, communication system equipment and optoelectronic devices, and Chinese enterprises should make more research efforts in related fields, Ge stressed.

China is attaching more importance to intellectual property protection, and both foreign and local enterprises have applied for more patents in recent years, Fu Liang, an independent tech analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Foreign firms attach great importance to the Chinese market. As market competition intensifies, companies are focusing on their patent portfolios to be more competitive and achieve long-term growth in the market, Fu said.

Though the US seeks to contain the development of China's semiconductor sector, moves by foreign firms show they're focusing more on their own business interests, Fu said, instead of following Washington's policy directions.

Patent innovation in the core industries of China's digital economy is developing vigorously. As of end-2022, the number of effective invention patents in the core industries of China's digital economy totaled 1.6 million, of which 1.27 million were domestic, Ge said.

From 2016 to 2022, the average annual growth rate of invention patents granted in core industries of China's digital economy reached 18.1 percent, CNIPA data showed.

Domestic enterprises have strong innovation momentum in the field, with many rapidly emerging as frontrunners thanks to the advantages of massive data resources and rich application scenarios. They have become a key force to promote the development of the digital economy, Ge noted.