Official data show that as of June 2025, the western region of China had 531,000 valid invention patents, 7.006 million valid registered trademarks, 978 recognized geographical indication (GI) products, and 2,399 approved GI collective and certification trademarks—all maintaining steady growth.

    The figures were released at the regular August press conference of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on August 26 in Beijing. In his opening remarks, CNIPA spokesperson and director of the General Office, Heng Fuguang, noted that these numbers fully demonstrate the continuous improvement of innovation capacity in western China, making it a key driver of the country’s high-quality intellectual property (IP) development.

    Heng highlighted CNIPA’s major efforts in the region, including establishing industry benchmarks, improving the innovation environment, promoting commercialization and utilization, and expanding international openness.

    On commercialization and utilization: A cultivation pool of pilot enterprises for patent industrialization has been established, with 2,361 high-growth enterprises from western China selected—accounting for one quarter of the national total. Cross-regional patent commercialization events have been held in Xi’an (Shaanxi), Baotou (Inner Mongolia), and Urumqi (Xinjiang), generating nearly 210 million yuan in signed agreements.

    On expanding openness: The 18th China–EU Heads of IP Offices Meeting was held in Chengdu, Sichuan last year, and the 16th China–ASEAN Heads of IP Offices Meeting will take place this year in Xi’an, Shaanxi.

    At the press conference, Shen Liping, Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Intellectual Property Administration, presented Shaanxi’s progress under the initiative to accelerate the building of a model IP powerhouse in western China. She said Shaanxi has witnessed sustained vitality in innovation and accelerated IP utilization benefits. Through the “Lingxi Plan” for IP commercialization, the province has been addressing the “two-way blind spots” between technology supply and industrial demand, effectively promoting efficient IP transformation from “laboratories” to “production lines.”

    Shaanxi has also positioned itself as a leader in IP protection in western China. It was the first in the region to complete comprehensive IP legislation, built a provincial IP big data public service platform, and improved the business environment in the IP field. Overseas, Shaanxi has established IP rights protection assistance workstations in the UK and Kazakhstan, while also launching a foreign-related IP service consortium.

    In terms of open development, Shaanxi has set up cross-regional, high-level IP cooperation mechanisms with the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and nine provinces along the Yellow River Basin. The province has hosted the Silk Road International Exposition’s Belt and Road IP Cooperation and Exchange Forum for four consecutive years, and this year it pioneered the Silk Road (Shaanxi) International GI Product Trade Fair, charting new directions in international GI trade cooperation.

    Answering media questions, Yang Zuotao, Deputy Secretary-General of the Xi’an Municipal Government, emphasized that as a thousand-year-old capital and an innovation hub, Xi’an integrates IP protection into the entire process of renewing, reinterpreting, and revitalizing its cultural heritage.

    He revealed that, leveraging the co-construction mechanism with CNIPA, the Xi’an Intellectual Property Exchange and Service Center is being developed as a trading hub and transformation platform covering patents, trademarks, copyrights, and technological achievements. It is scheduled to officially begin operations in October this year.

    Source: China Quality News Network