The Third Belt and Road High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property was held in Beijing from Sept. 11 to 13, with China and the countries participating in the construction of the New Silk Road under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) holding in-depth exchanges. Participants, including Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), attended the event and addressed the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
Intelectual property is a crucial topic for BRI-involved countries, as companies contracted to projects under the initiative require assurances that their innovations are protected. At the same time, the initiative often involves the sharing of technologies between countries, and agreements must be reached to strike a balance. According to Tang, participating countries are increasingly aware of the importance of the issue. "This year's conference is the most well-attended with over 70 countries attending. And really, we hear so many good ideas being exchanged, so I think that this is really [a] very important part of contributing to a global dialogue on intellectual property," said Tang, speaking on the sidelines of the event. Over the past years, China actively promoted exchanges and cooperation with countries participating in Belt and Road development in areas such as intellectual property policy communication, personnel training, and intellectual property protection and application. China has sent more than 30 experts to support the intellectual property capacity building of countries participating in the BRI. "For us, the most important parts of the intellectual property to cooperate with China is the enforcement of the intellectual property rights, then the educational part, spreading the awareness of the importance of the intellectual property among entrepreneurs, academics, students, pupils and so on," said Vladimir Maric, director of the Intellectual Property Office of Serbia.
Data shows that the number of Chinese companies with invention patents for core industries in the digital economy in Belt and Road countries has increased from 206 in 2013 to 758 in 2023, and the cumulative number of such companies has reached 4,441 since 2013. From 2016 to 2023, the number of Chinese companies that have applied for green and low-carbon invention patents in participating countries of the BRI reached 1,314. "The cooperation between the Chinese and UAE government has been over 40 years and this has come with the signing of an MoU between us and the Chinese government in fostering IP and innovation. Of course, as the sharing of information and renewable energy infrastructure, which is strengthening the agreement on IP protection, this cooperation accelerates the exchange of technology, expertise, helping partner countries, of course, as well as leveling the technology transfer," said Abdul Rahman Al-moaini, assistant undersecretary for the intellectual property sector under the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates.
China, Belt and Road countries exchange on IP issues at high-level conference
