Benefits Brought by Patents Increased Dramatically in China

The National Bureau of Statistics recently released a report on the achievements of economic and social development on the 70th anniversary of the founding of People’s Republic of China (PRC). According to the report, in 2018, an average of 70 patent applications were filed in China per 100 million Yuan of research and development (R&D) funds, 19 more than those of 1991; and the benefit brought by patents increased significantly. The report shows that in 2018, China saw 4.323 million patent applications filed and 2.448 million patents granted, 86 times and 98 times higher than in 1991 respectively. Patent quality was also improved. For instance, the number of patent applications for invention reached 1.542 million in 2018, accounting for 35.7% of total applications, an increase of 12.9 percentage points over 1991. In addition, the report also makes statistics on the number of R&D personnel, the scale and intensity of R&D, as well as relevant papers. It is reported that in 2018, the number of R&D personnel in China calculated on the basis of equivalent full-time workload totaled 4.19 million person-years, 6.2 times that of 1991. The total number of R&D personnel in China surpassed that of the United States in 2013 and has been the world's largest pool for R&D personnel for six consecutive years. At the same time, China made a historic breakthrough in the scale and intensity of R&D funds. The report demonstrates that China's investment in research and development continues to grow rapidly, reaching 1.9657 trillion Yuan in 2018, 138 times that of 1991. The input intensity of R&D funds has reached new highs, exceeding 2% for the first time in 2014; in 2018, this number reached 2.18%, exceeding the average level of 15 EU countries. In terms of exchange rate, China has become the world's second largest R&D investment country, only after the United States.

The report pointed out that over the past seven decades, China witnessed the growth of scientific and technological strength as its economy developed, a significant increase in investment to science and technology, and an improvement in both the number and quality of scientific and technological productions.

August 15, 2019

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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