Inter-Ministerial Coordination and Policy Tools Propel China’s IP Governance Amid Global Challenges
China’s intellectual property (IP) regime is undergoing a strategic evolution, characterized by enhanced inter-agency collaboration and policy tool optimization to address domestic innovation priorities and international compliance demands. The establishment of the Inter-ministerial Joint Meeting System for Developing China into an IP Powerhouse in 2023 underscores this shift, coordinating 28 central departments to implement the IP Powerhouse Construction Outline (2021–2035). This framework prioritizes AI, green energy, and advanced manufacturing while addressing structural imbalances in policy tool deployment, where environmental tools dominate (e.g., regulations and financial incentives) over supply- and demand-side mechanisms in creation, utilization, and service sectors.
A key legislative development is the 2024 Provisions on Causes of Action for Intellectual Property Cases in Market Regulation, which standardizes case categorization into primary, secondary, and tertiary levels to improve enforcement transparency. This mandates adding “suspected” to case titles during preliminary investigations, ensuring procedural rigor before penalties are finalized. Concurrently, judicial reforms emphasize the protection of unregistered well-known foreign trademarks under Article 6(2) of the Paris Convention, though practical hurdles remain. Courts theoretically recognize such marks but require proof of localized market familiarity, creating challenges for foreign brands lacking registrations.
International dynamics further shape China’s IP trajectory. The WIPO-China collaboration on an AI-driven music copyright ecosystem highlights efforts to adapt IP frameworks to digital innovation, integrating blockchain for rights management and addressing AI-generated content challenges. However, geopolitical tensions persist, as seen in the EU’s 2025 WTO complaint against China’s alleged imposition of global royalty rates for standard-essential patents (SEPs), reflecting disputes over jurisdictional authority in cross-border licensing.
Environmental policy intersections are gaining prominence. A 2023 quasi-natural experiment analyzing 268 Chinese cities demonstrated that the National Intellectual Property Rights Demonstration Cities policy reduced air pollution by 12% through technological innovation and industrial restructuring, particularly in resource-based cities. This positions IP protection as a dual driver of economic and environmental goals.
Structural challenges persist, however. Regional disparities in high-value IP concentration—82% in coastal provinces—prompted the CNIPA’s 2025 Regional Competitiveness Index to allocate ¥30 billion ($4.1 billion) to inland innovation hubs. Additionally, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has deepened China’s influence in Central Asia through $95 billion in trade and digital infrastructure projects, raising concerns about debt dependency and data sovereignty.
As China navigates these complexities, its IP regime faces a dual mandate: fostering innovation through precise policy tools while aligning with multilateral norms. The 2023–2035 roadmap’s emphasis on inter-ministerial coordination and environmental linkage offers a blueprint, yet resolving disparities in policy tool application and cross-border jurisdictional disputes remains critical to solidifying China’s role as a global IP leader.