By Lyu Zhongzheng, People’s Daily
Recently, the WIPO Global Awards 2025 were held in Geneva, Switzerland. Chinese tech firm Unitree Robotics stood out as one of the winners among more than 780 companies from 95 countries, showcasing the growing global presence of Chinese innovation.
With around 200 granted patents worldwide and nearly 50 international applications filed via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), Unitree has combined technological advances with intellectual property protection to expand its overseas footprint. Its strong technological capabilities in robotics have earned it broad recognition on the world stage.
This success reflects a broader trend. Amid global economic transformation, Chinese enterprises are venturing abroad with robust intellectual property portfolios. In 2024, China ranked first globally in both PCT international patent applications and applications under the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs, marking a historic shift from “world factory” to engine of global innovation.
Why do Chinese enterprises pursue patents abroad?
“Securing intellectual property overseas is essential for accessing international markets,” said Li Wenyu, director of the Intellectual Property and Innovation Development Center, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. “Patents are territorial in nature. Exporting products requires forward planning in intellectual property to mitigate risks.”
For Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor (GMW), this planning is highly structured. “We need to complete the layout of core intellectual property 18 to 24 months before entering target overseas markets,” said Rong Xuedong, deputy general manager of the company’s technology center. GMW has filed nearly 3,000 overseas patent applications, establishing an intellectual property-driven global strategy that both prevents infringement risks and builds competitive advantages.
IP protection also shields brand equity. “Chinese companies have suffered losses overseas, particularly from trademark squatting and brand imitation,” noted Ma Yide, a professor at the School of Intellectual Property under the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Years ago, Hisense, a Chinese multinational major appliance and electronics manufacturer, found its trademarks squatted in Germany, with the registrant later demanding an exorbitant price for its return. Similarly, Chinese coffee giant Luckin Coffee faced a prolonged legal battle after its trademark was preemptively registered in Thailand. Such cases have hindered global expansion and tarnished brand image.
“Amid the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, intellectual property work now carries the historical mission of fostering new quality productive forces and supporting high-level opening up,” said Ma.
Rising strength in intellectual property
The momentum is evident in recent data. In the first half of this year, PCT international patent applications and design filings through the Hague System filed by Chinese applicants grew by 12.7 percent and 23.2 percent year on year, respectively. Meanwhile, the combined value of Chinese brands among the world’s top 5,000 brands reached $1.76 trillion, ranking second globally.
China has also developed a significant base of high-value patents in emerging industries such as 5G, artificial intelligence, aerospace, new energy vehicles, biomedicine, and quantum information. Many Chinese multinationals increasingly leverage these patents to secure market share and consolidate their global competitiveness.
This progression marks China’s decisive shift from intellectual property importer to creator. “The export of intellectual property is primarily driven by technology-intensive enterprises,” said Li Huiying, head of the Intellectual Property Institute under China’s National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center. “These companies invest heavily in research and development, generate abundant innovation outcomes, and pursue broader overseas strategies in intellectual property.”
Chinese enterprises are also becoming more adept at handling disputes abroad. An industry insider said that since 2024, the success rate of Chinese companies in overseas intellectual property litigation has exceeded 70 percent.
Building a global intellectual property framework
China is actively promoting the establishment of patent pools, which allow cross-licensing and one-stop licensing services. For example, Chinese tech giant Huawei has licensed its patents to hundreds of companies through bilateral agreements or patent pools. This approach integrates patent resources, reduces licensing transaction costs, accelerates industrial applications, and strengthens compliance and risk management.
China’s engagement in the global intellectual property system has deep roots. After joining the WIPO in June 1980, it has acceded to nearly all major international intellectual property conventions and consistently fulfilled its obligations, becoming a staunch defender, active participant, and important contributor to the development of global intellectual property rules.
By September 2024, China had established partnerships with over 80 countries and regions in intellectual property cooperation, with over 200 ongoing intellectual property cooperation agreements. From 2020 to 2024, China’s annual imports and exports of intellectual property royalties rose from 319.44 billion yuan ($44.57 billion) to 398.71 billion yuan, an average annual growth of 5.7 percent.
Looking ahead, with its innovation capacity and economic dynamism continuing to rise, China is poised to make even greater contributions to global innovation and development. Strengthened patent protection and growing international intellectual property engagement are not only fueling Chinese enterprises’ confidence abroad but also reinforcing their role as key drivers of technological progress worldwide.
