China’s Accession to WIPO’s International Treaties Demonstrated Its Commitment to Opening-up and Multilateralism

February 8, 2022

On February 5, during his visit to China for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, where he joined the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, the President of the UN General Assembly and other heads of international organizations, WIPO Director General Daren Tang met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China.

As China was celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, Mr. Tang expressed his best wishes for the Year of the Tiger to the Premier and the Chinese people.

Mr. Tang congratulated China on the impressive opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. “The world has seen vitality, optimism and determination of the Chinese people in further developing the country,” said Mr. Tang, “the spirit of ‘Together for a Shared Future’ holds special significance for the world at this moment of pandemic.”

Mr. Tang welcomed the deposits of the instruments for China’s accession to the Marrakesh Treaty and the Hague Agreement, and said “it shows China’s commitment to opening up, multilateralism and sustained support to WIPO.”

China is a country with a long history and the Chinese civilization evolves rapidly alongside the development of innovation and creativity in China. Over the past decades, scientific research, technological innovation and cultural creativity have helped drive China’s economic growth. Mr. Tang commended China on elevating its ranking in the Global Innovation Index to the 12th position, which is “ready to knock on the door of the top ten.”

Mr. Tang mentioned that the Guidelines for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Nation (2021-2035) and the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan  for Nationwide Intellectual Property Protection and Utilization will “take China's IP development to a new level and open new opportunities for future cooperation between WIPO and China.” At this time of crisis and opportunity, he believed that the cooperation between the two sides will “embrace a more promising future”.

“IPR protection is the driving force for job creation, investment expansion, and economic development,” Mr. Tang said, and affirmed that WIPO is committed to promoting the development of the international IP system in a more open and inclusive direction.

Premier Li said to protect IPR is to protect innovation, and that the Chinese government attaches great importance to IPR protection. He said that China would continue to enhance IPR protection nationwide, treat and protect the IPR of Chinese and foreign-funded enterprises equally, stimulate the innovation vitality of the whole society, optimize the business environment, and promote international cooperation on innovation.

Noting that next year marked the fiftieth anniversary of China's cooperation with WIPO, Premier Li said China was willing to further deepen cooperation with WIPO in areas such as innovation and development.