Visitors interact with a home service robot during the World Smart Industry Expo 2025 in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Sept. 6, 2025. The World Smart Industry Expo 2025 kicked off on Friday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, showcasing advanced achievements including AI rehabilitation systems, portable wearable devices, elderly care robots, and senior-friendly equipment. (Photo: Xinhua)

China ranks among the world's leading countries in the number of active artificial intelligence (AI) patents, while patent-intensive industries are making a steadily rising contribution to economic growth, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) said on Friday.

The strong performance in AI and other frontier technologies underscores how core and key technology patents are reinforcing China's push for high-level technological self-reliance, while also translating innovation capacity more effectively into economic value, analysts said.

Among China's valid domestic invention patents, high-value invention patents grew 2.2 percentage points faster year on year than overall invention patent, Rui Wenbiao, deputy head of the administration told a press briefing, adding that Growth was particularly strong in fields including information technology management methods, computer technologies and medical technologies, indicating rapid expansion in knowledge- and technology-intensive sectors.

China's active AI patents remain at the forefront globally, with a batch of key core technology patents already deployed in future-oriented industries such as quantum technology, biomanufacturing, brain-computer interfaces and sixth-generation (6G) communications. "These advances are providing solid intellectual property support for China's pursuit of technological self-reliance at a higher level," Rui noted.

The contribution of patent-intensive industries to the broader economy has also continued to rise. Latest data show that the value added of China's patent-intensive industries has exceeded 18 trillion yuan, with their share of GDP increasing from 11.97 percent in 2020 to 13.38 percent in 2024, reflecting a steadily strengthening role in driving economic growth and exceeding the targets set in the 14th Five-Year Plan for intellectual property.

Brand value and regional innovation indicators point in the same direction. According to official data, Chinese brands account for $1.81 trillion in value among the world's top 5,000 brands, ranking second globally.

Meanwhile, geographical indication products generated nearly 1 trillion yuan in direct annual output, marking five consecutive years of growth and emerging as a powerful driver of income growth and regional economic development.

Innovation activity remains highly concentrated in key regions, the official noted. By the end of 2025, in the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Clusters ranking, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster ranked first worldwide, Beijing placed fourth, and the Shanghai-Suzhou cluster sixth. 

"These innovation hubs are playing a pivotal role as strategic anchors in China's drive to become a strong intellectual property nation," Rui emphasized.

Intellectual property is also contributing more visibly to China's external economic engagement. From January to November 2025, China's total imports and exports of intellectual property royalties and fees rose 7.4 percent year on year, with exports surging 23.1 percent, supporting the upgrading and expansion of China's services trade.

Global Times