The report given to the 19th CPC National Congress, summarized China’s achievements over the past five years, and pointed out that “through devoting great energy to implementing innovation-driven development strategies, we have seen much accomplishment towards making China a country of innovators.” It can be said that since the 18th CPC National Congress, China’s scientific and technological sectors have entered an explosive phase, and that China is changing the global pattern of scientific and technological innovation.
In 2017, according to the latest data released by China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), the number of applications for invention patents in China reached 1,382,000, a year-on-year increase of 14.2 percent. Such a number ranks first in the world for the seventh consecutive year. The number of international patent applications received over the same period was 51,000, a year-on-year increase of 12.5 percent, overtaking Japan and raising China to second place in the world. Mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) possessed 1.136 million invention patents, approaching the United States (1.386 million invention patents in 2016) and Japan (1.644 million invention patents in 2016). On average, out of every 10,000 Chinese people, 9.8 own invention patents.
A country’s economic development relies on different types of capital. Among them, human and technological capital is key factors to determining a country’s long-term sustainable growth. To measure a country’s technological capital, the number of invention patents per 10,000 people considered an important indicator.
Data show that in 2010, China owned a total of 228,000 invention patents and the number of invention patents per 10,000 people stood at 1.7. By 2017, the two indicators rose nearly six times to 1.356 million and 9.8, respectively. The unprecedented and explosive growth indicates China has become a powerhouse in terms of global intellectual property. Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), said that China’s progress in innovation is remarkable and that the country is undergoing a transition from “Made-in-China” to “Created-in-China.”(The author is director of the Institute of National Conditions at Tsinghua University)