CNIPA Director Highlights Challenges in China's Intellectual Property Commercialization and Market Orientation

On March 16, 2026, Shen Changyu, Director of China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), published a policy-level article in Qiushi, the official bimonthly theoretical journal of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. The article, titled 大力促进知识产权价值实现 (Vigorously Promoting the Realization of Intellectual Property Value), candidly acknowledges that while China’s intellectual property system has rapidly expanded in patent volume, it still faces significant challenges in translating these assets into commercial and industrial gains.

Qiushi, meaning “Seeking Truth,” serves as a premier ideological platform for disseminating CPC policies and guiding political and ideological action. Shen’s contribution underscores the government’s recognition of the need to improve market orientation in the commercialization and utilization of intellectual property rights.

Since the launch of a three-year special action for patent transformation and utilization in 2023, China’s IP system has seen notable quantitative progress. Shen cites several key figures to illustrate this growth:

- A centralized inventory of 1.349 million existing patents from over 2,700 universities and research institutions was completed for the first time.

- Nationwide cumulative patent transfer and licensing registrations reached 1.458 million, including 189,000 from universities and research institutions.

- The industrialization rate of invention patents stood at 10.1% for universities and 17.2% for research institutions.

- The transaction value of technology contracts involving patents hit 1.18 trillion yuan in 2025.

- In 2024, patent-intensive industries contributed an added value of 18.04 trillion yuan, accounting for 13.38% of China’s GDP.

- By the end of 2025, China held 5.32 million valid invention patents, with 1.534 million concentrated in strategic emerging industries.

Despite these impressive statistics, Shen openly acknowledges a persistent gap compared to developed economies. For example, the European Union’s patent-intensive industries represent 18.4% of GDP, exceeding China’s figure by 5.02 percentage points. Furthermore, regional disparities within China are stark, with the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and Guangdong Province collectively holding approximately two-thirds of all valid invention patents nationwide.

Shen identifies five major categories of obstacles hindering patent commercialization, each framed as a distinct challenge requiring targeted reforms:

1. Revenue Distribution Reform: The government plans to continue adjusting how IP revenues are shared among institutions, researchers, and technology transfer agencies. Incorporating IP transformation outcomes into talent evaluations and professional title assessments aims to reduce institutional reluctance and incentivize commercialization.

2. Due Diligence and Fault Tolerance: Enhancing exemption mechanisms to alleviate fears of state-owned asset loss during patent transfers from universities and research institutions is a priority to facilitate smoother transactions.

3. Revitalizing University and Research Institution Patents: With 1.215 million valid invention patents held by these institutions at the end of 2025, the government intends to deepen inventory efforts, improve pre-application evaluation systems focused on industrialization prospects, and develop dynamic databases of transferable patents.

4. Building the IP Factor Market: In 2025, China’s IP royalty trade reached 425.4 billion yuan, IP-backed bank loans totaled 297.9 billion yuan, and cumulative IP securitization products exceeded 42 billion yuan. IP insurance provided over 190 billion yuan in risk protection for nearly 42,000 enterprises. The plan calls for further development of IP valuation, financing, securitization, and insurance instruments to strengthen the IP financial ecosystem.

5. Industrial Chain Integration: The government will support patent-intensive industries by building IP innovation consortia and patent pools in targeted fields, fostering synergy between standards and patents, and directing specialized services toward high-growth and specialized small and medium enterprises (SMEs).