China Assumes a Leadership Position within the Digital Economy---Director General Daren Tang Delivered a Video Speech at the Opening Plenary of the 2021 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit

September 27, 2021

From September 26 to 28, 2021, the 2021 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, co-hosted by the Cyberspace Administration of China and the People's Government of Zhejiang Province, was held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Summit. Vice-Premier Liu He, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, read the Congratulatory Letter and delivered a keynote speech via video. Mr.Yuan Jiajun, Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress, gave a welcome speech. Mr. Zhuang Rongwen, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, Head of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and Minister of Cyberspace Administration of China, presided over the Opening Ceremony. Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO), delivered a video speech.  Ms. Liu Hua, Director of WIPO Office in China, attended the Opening Ceremony as invited.

In his letter, Xi noted that digital technology is being fully integrated into all fields and the whole process of economy, politics, culture, society and ecological civilization construction with new ideas, new forms and new models, having extensive and profound impacts on the production and life of humankind. Nowadays, profound changes in the world unseen in a century and the epidemic situation are intertwined. It is imperative for the international community to join hands to seize opportunities and meet challenges by following the trend of informatization and digitalization, as well as networking and smart development, he added.

Xi emphasized that China is willing to work with other countries to shoulder the historical responsibility of promoting human progress by stimulating the digital economy vitality, enhancing the digital government efficiency, optimizing the digital social environment, setting up a digital cooperation structure, and building a strong digital security shield. China is also willing to work with other countries in the world to make the digital civilization benefit people of all countries, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humankind, he added.

Highlights of Video Speech by WIPO Director General Mr. Daren Tang:

We meet as the world is undergoing a profound transformation. Not only are governments around the world grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, but the transition towards new technologies, such as 5G, AI, Big Data, and IoT is in full swing.

In such an economy, intangible assets – whether brands, designs, software, content and others – are increasingly the forces that will shape the modern economy and drive our efforts to build back from the pandemic. Indeed, it is estimated that global intangible assets’ value is now worth more than USD $ 65 trillion, more than the American and Chinese economies combined.

As the UN agency for innovation and creativity, WIPO occupies a critical role within this new economy. This is reflected in the rise in applications filed under WIPO’s Global IP Services-principally the PCT, Madrid and Hague systems that take care of patent, trademark and design applications. Over the last ten years, total volume has grown by more than 60 per cent. Despite the considerable challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, IP filings remained resilient last year.

At the global level, patent filings around the world continue to be above the three million mark and WIPO saw a 3.5 per cent increase in the number of international patent applications under the PCT. China was once again the top filing nation in 2020, recording over 68,000 applications, up 16 per cent from 2019.

Within this bundle of patents concerning computer technology remained the field with the highest number of applications. Indeed, the top five fields of technology accounted for over 35 per cent of all PCT applications last year. We anticipate that this demand will continue to grow in the years ahead.

In harnessing digital technology, WIPO is committed to continuing to act as a supportive facilitator and contributor at the global level. In recent years, we have organized four sessions of the WIPO Conversation on IP and AI, now called IP and Frontier Technologies, the latest of which began earlier this week. These Conversations bring together a range of stakeholders to discuss how AI, big data and other emerging critical technologies interface with the global IP system.

Similarly, WIPO has put in place a suite of global IP databases, notably the PATENTSCOPE and the Global Brand Database to facilitate easy and remote access to IP portals. WIPO also offers global IP programs of excellence to support Member States – especially in developing and least developing countries – to build their capacity, and skills and knowledge in IP. Our vision at WIPO is of a world where innovation and creativity from anywhere is supported by IP for the good of everyone.

In July 2019, WIPO entered into an MoU for cooperation with the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). Under this agreement, WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Center became the only non-Chinese entity to provide domain name dispute resolution services for the .CN and .中国 (China) country codes. Last month, the Center received its 100th case under the dispute resolution policy. This is both a milestone for the MoU and evidence of how we can work together to strengthen the IP ecosystem and build respect for IP rights.

IP issues are of increasing relevance to China, especially as the country assumes a leadership position within the global digital economy. Powered by global giants such as Ali (Alibaba) – with a market value of nearly USD $615 billion and a fleet of tech-based unicorns from Bytedance to Sensetime – the value of China's digital economy reached 39 trillion yuan in 2020, accounting for almost 40 per cent of China’s GDP. This growth reflects the progress China has made in building an effective and modern IP ecosystem.

China’s transition from a labor-based to a knowledge-driven economy is one of the world’s most significant economic trends. This is reflected in China’s leadership of several important IP indicators and its strong performance in WIPO’s Global Innovation Index over many years.

During this time of crisis and opportunity, WIPO will redouble its efforts to build an inclusive, balanced and forward-looking IP ecosystem that benefits everyone, everywhere. We look forward to working with all Member States and our global partners to bring this vision to life.

About the World Internet Conference

The World Internet Conference (WIC) is a worldwide Internet event held annually in Wuzhen, Tongxiang, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, co-hosted by the Cyberspace Administration of China and the People's Government of Zhejiang Province, aiming to build an international platform for interconnection between China and the world and a Chinese platform for international Internet sharing and common governance, so that countries can seek consensus in disputes, seek cooperation in consensus, and create a win-win situation in cooperation. The theme of this year’s conference is "Towards a New Era of Digital Civilization -- Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace." Nearly 2,000 delegates from more than 80 countries and regions attended the conference in-person and online, including representatives of foreign government departments and embassies in China, heads of international organizations, and representatives of well-known Chinese and foreign enterprises, etc.