"China continues to be a role model to the world, and developing countries in particular, for its persistent innovation planning, innovation, policy implementation, and evaluation," Gurry said in a video message to a roundtable meeting on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020, which was held Thursday in Beijing.
The index released by the WIPO showed that China retained its 14th place in the rankings. It broke into the top 15 last year and has established itself as an innovation leader as the only middle-income economy in the top 30 for many years, GII co-editor Sacha Wunsch-Vincent said.
China maintained its world leadership in several indicators related to intellectual property rights (IPR), including patents by origin, utility models, trademarks, and industrial designs, Gurry said.
Innovation is the driving force of development, while IPR is the driving force of innovation, said Shen Changyu, head of China's National Intellectual Property Administration.
In recent years, China has been stepping up IPR protection by improving laws and regulations, implementing strict IPR protection policies, and providing effective channels for innovators to safeguard their rights, he added.
China has always actively participated in global IPR governance and is committed to promoting the construction of open, inclusive, balanced, and effective international IPR rules, said Yang Tao, an official with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China retains first place in the quality of innovation among middle-income economies for the eighth consecutive year, and ranks third in the quality of universities, with Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Fudan University within the top 50 universities worldwide, said Gurry.
In the past five years, Tsinghua University has transferred a total of 2,172 patents and other intellectual property rights, said Xue Qikun, an academic with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and vice president of the prestigious Tsinghua University.
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