2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference: Beijing is fully committed to building the best district for the development of an intellectual property powerhouse

On March 25th, Hu Wenhui, Deputy Director of the National Intellectual Property Administration, stated at the Global Intellectual Property Protection and Innovation Forum that intellectual property rights are of great significance for connecting global innovation resources, promoting the transformation of innovative achievements, and fostering deep integration of technological and industrial innovation. Beijing is fully committed to building a leading area for intellectual property rights, further leveraging its innovation resource advantages and demonstration role, and contributing more Beijing experiences to the country.

The high-value invention patent ownership per 10,000 people has doubled since 2020

According to the “Global Innovation Index Report 2025” released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China’s ranking has entered the top ten globally for the first time; the number of innovation clusters ranks first worldwide, with a total of 24 global top 100 innovation clusters, among which Beijing’s cluster ranks fourth.

Beijing Business Daily learned from the forum that in recent years, Beijing has persisted in leveraging technological innovation as a leading force, with the Zhongguancun reform pilot and “Two Zones” construction yielding fruitful results. R&D investment intensity ranks among the top globally, the number of unicorn companies leads all cities nationwide, and the high-value invention patent ownership per 10,000 people and the number of national-level specialized and innovative “Little Giant” enterprises have doubled since 2020. The city has cultivated three trillion-yuan-level and seven hundred-billion-yuan-level industrial clusters.

Data released by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics show that by 2025, Beijing’s effective invention patent count will reach 748k, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%; invention patents per 10,000 people will be 342.6, up 12.9%; and the transaction volume of recognized and registered technology contracts will be 986.5 billion yuan, an increase of 7.8%.

Hu Wenhui said that Beijing’s strong industry and active innovation create a “fertile soil” for developing new quality productivity. The city is focusing on building a globally influential international sci-tech innovation center, fully developing its role as a leading area for intellectual property rights, and further leveraging its innovation resource advantages and demonstration role to contribute more Beijing experiences nationwide. Additionally, the Zhongguancun Forum, as a national-level platform for global science and technology innovation exchange and cooperation, also plays an important role in deepening collaborative innovation and promoting shared prosperity.

Promoting more innovative achievements from research institutes to enterprises

Both the 2026 government work report and the “14th Five-Year Plan” outline emphasize the need to improve the intellectual property protection system in emerging fields and accelerate the efficient transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements.

It is understood that in supporting high-level intellectual property creation for original innovation, Beijing will focus on urgent national strategic needs and frontier areas, support leading industry enterprises to collaborate with universities, research institutes, and upstream and downstream industry players to jointly build industrial innovation centers, and strive to produce more key, original, and leading major technological achievements and high-value patent portfolios, providing solid support for the growth of new quality productivity.

In terms of using high-efficiency intellectual property rights to promote the integration of science, technology, and industry innovation, Beijing will facilitate a healthy cycle among education, science and technology, and talent, improve mechanisms for transforming, licensing, and marketizing intellectual property results, and push more innovations from research institutes to enterprises, realizing the value of intellectual property and activating industrial momentum.

According to Nie Zuoren, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Beijing Intellectual Property Strategy Advisory Committee, intellectual property rights are no longer just a legal concept but a core carrier of national technological competitiveness and a key for enterprises to seize industry high grounds. Beijing’s universities, as vital components of the innovation system and hubs for scientific and technological talent, play a crucial role. For example, Beijing University of Technology currently has a total of 8,700 valid patents, including 7,800 invention patents.

Nie Zuoren further suggested that in the future, efforts could be made to cultivate high-value patents through AI empowerment, promoting a shift from “quantity” to “quality” of intellectual property; improve mechanisms for talent training and professional qualification, and build a professional team for technology transfer; and establish an ecosystem of collaboration among universities, enterprises, and government for transformation, making intellectual property truly a driving force for industrial innovation.

A series of latest achievements in intellectual property work released

At this forum, a series of recent achievements in intellectual property work were also announced.

For example, the Beijing Intellectual Property Office, together with the Municipal High Court, Municipal Bureau of Commerce, and Municipal Judicial Bureau, released a “Small and Fast” overseas intellectual property protection mechanism, focusing on resource integration, policy coordination, risk prevention, collaborative linkage, and closed-loop management, creating the Beijing model for overseas IP protection; the Beijing Intellectual Property Office signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Affairs Department of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore to deepen cooperation in cross-border services, capacity building, talent development, and international activities; and the office, along with several universities and industry associations, launched a collaborative talent cultivation network for the capital’s intellectual property, including a signing ceremony between the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Intellectual Property Operation and Management Co., Ltd. for an IP service talent practice base.

Notably, the Beijing Intellectual Property Office and Haidian District Intellectual Property Office also released the “Guide to Overseas Intellectual Property Protection in the Biopharmaceutical Industry” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guide”) and the “Guidelines for Intellectual Property Protection in AI-Driven New Drug R&D Industry” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”).

The biopharmaceutical industry is a key direction for China’s strategic emerging industries and an important engine for Beijing’s innovation development. For example, the “Guidelines” were issued by the Haidian District Market Supervision Administration and the District Intellectual Property Office, with Director Nie Junjie stating that the release of the “Guidelines” is a precise response to the IP protection needs of the AI-driven new drug R&D industry, an important measure to support pharmaceutical industry innovation in Haidian, and a concrete practice of Beijing’s exploration into new fields and new business models of AI-related intellectual property protection.

In addition, in recent years, the number of patent applications related to Beijing’s biopharmaceutical industry has shown a clear upward trend, with research entities increasingly aware of patent protection. More and more Beijing pharmaceutical companies are expanding globally and actively participating in international competition and cooperation. The “Guide” aims to provide Beijing’s biopharmaceutical enterprises with a systematic, practical, and operable set of IP protection guidelines to help them better understand and adapt to the IP systems of target markets, effectively utilize international IP protection tools, and better avoid risks and safeguard their rights.

Source: Beijing Business Daily