WIPO Deputy Director General Congratulates Shenzhen Forum on Innovation Cities

April 17, 2023

Ms. Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), sent a congratulatory letter to the Shenzhen Forum: Global Sci-Tech Innovation Cities and the 21st Conference on International Exchange of Professionals opening ceremony held on April 15th in Shenzhen.

Ms. Wang, congratulated the Shenzhen Forum and the Opening Ceremony of the 21st Conference on International Exchange of Professionals in a letter where she discussed the connection between intellectual property, sci-tech innovation, and urban development. She highlighted China's role as a global innovation leader with cities like Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Wuhan, and their rise in the Global Innovation Index (GII). This progress provides a model for the link between innovative development and global city clusters.

Ms. Wang Binying, WIPO Deputy Director General

Ms. Wang attributed China's impressive progress in innovation and IP to government support, advancements in technology, and a strong talent pool nurtured by education and training. She highlighted the joint efforts between WIPO and China in training IP interdisciplinary talents through the establishment of a Master's degree in IP and organizing summer schools and training courses.

Ms. Wang emphasized that the rapid development of frontier technologies is changing the way we live, work and play, and it is crucial to ensure that the IP system continues to support innovation and creativity in this context. She expressed WIPO's willingness to strengthen collaboration with Chinese stakeholders to create a more balanced, inclusive, vibrant and forward-looking global IP ecosystem that enables cities to advance in science, technology, and innovation while making IP accessible to everyone, everywhere.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST) and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, the Conference was opened by Mr. Zhang Guangjun, Vice Minister of the MOST, who delivered a keynote speech. Mr. Meng Fanli, Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Secretary of Shenzhen Municipal Committee, and Mr. Wang Xi, Vice Governor of Guangdong Provincial government, also attended and addressed the opening ceremony. Ms. Liu Hua, Director of WIPO Office in China, delivered a speech and participated in the panel discussion.

Ms. Liu noted that WIPO offers five valuable knowledge assets to empower the innovation development of cities: policy forums, registration systems, databases, cooperation platforms, and capacity building. Additionally, the GII uses two indicators, the location of inventors on patent applications and authors on scientific articles, to identify geographical areas of science and technology (S&T) clusters. The GII ranks the world’s top S&T clusters based on the number of international patent applications filed through WIPO’s PCT system and the number of scientific publications incorporated in the Web of Science’s Science Citation Index (SCI) Expanded. In 2022, for the first time, China matched the US in the number of top global S&T clusters. Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai-Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Wuhan were among the top clusters and are serving as critical examples and leaders.

About Shenzhen Forum: Global Sci-Tech Innovation Cities of the 21st Conference on International Exchange of Professional

The China International Talent Exchange Conference was established in 2001 as a national-level, international event aimed at promoting international science and technology innovation and talent exchange. The 21st conference was held in Shenzhen on April 15-16, with nearly 10,000 government representatives, experts, and scholars from 948 institutions and organizations across 28 countries and regions in attendance. The Shenzhen Forum, as the core event of the conference, gathered the latest developments in international talent exchange and science and technology innovation, making it a highly influential event in international talent exchange. In September 2022, WIPO released the "Global Innovation Index 2022", which ranked a group of Chinese innovation clusters, represented by Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou, at the top of the list. To enhance exchange and cooperation between Chinese and foreign cities in science and technology innovation, the "International Science and Technology Innovation Cities Summit" became the theme event of the Shenzhen Forum at this year's conference.