The 11th China IP Annual Meeting kicked off online on November 30. Shen Changyu, Commissioner of China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Hu Guangjie, Vice-Governor of Jiangsu Province, and Wu Qingwen, Mayor of Suzhou, delivered opening remarks via video. Daren Tang, Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), sent a congratulation letter. Liu Liange, Chairman of Board of Directors, Bank of China, gave a keynote speech. Hu Wenhui, Deputy Commissioner of CNIPA, officiated the opening ceremony.

Shen said the 20th CPC Congress has created a grand blueprint for the development of the party and the country. The theme of this year's meeting was "Follow the instructions of the 20th Congress, speed up construction of a powerhouse nation", which is a concrete action plan for executing the instructions of the 20th Congress and of General Secretary Xi Jinping at the 15th Group Study of the Politburo of the 19th CPC Central Committee.The nation's IP system will always uphold and strengthen the party's complete command of the IP work, support the developmental philosophy of putting people at the center, uphold the gist of the era in quality development, place quality in a more pronounced position, solidify the quality of construction of an IP powerhouse country, actively participate in global IP governance, and carry out innovation and serve people around the world in a better way.

Hu Guangjie said Jiangsu has put IP work in the grand scheme of province-wide development. The IP work is booming and boosting scientific and technological innovation and quality development. As the host province of this year's meeting, Jiangsu will take advantage of the occasion to learn from the wisdom of the experts and scholars, focus on serving independent and advanced technology and autonomous modern industrial system, elevate IP work to a new level and contribute to the construction of an IP powerhouse country.

Wu said Suzhou has accelerated the establishment of a leading domestic highland for the concentration and protection of IP elements, and stimulated the momentum of high-quality development with a high level of IP protection. Suzhou will use the opportunity as a sponsor of this annual meeting to advance its skills in using legal tools to protect IP and contribute "Suzhou Experience" to the building of an IP powerhouse country.

Daren Tang said in his letter that the 20th CPC National Congress marks a milestone, and China hasalready put IP-driven innovation and creativity at the heart of its journey to modernization. WIPO will continue to work closely together with China as the iconic and commemorative moment -the 50-yearcooperation between China and WIPO cooperation is drawing near.

Zhao Yuliang, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Liu Hua, Director of WIPO China Office, Gao Runsheng, Level-One Inspector of Science/Technology and Informatization Department of the Ministry of Education, and Yi Jiming, Director of International IP Research Center of Peking University, were among the honored guests who attended the annual meeting.

The annual meeting was organized by IP Publication House and streamed live on cnr.cn and other platforms. Participants from the WIPO and other international and regional organizations, Chinese government agencies, Chinese and overseas IP service providers, universities, research institutes and the business community exchanged ideas on IP issues related to digital economy, fintech, biomedicine, mobile telecommunication and other key tech fields. In the meantime, online side events, such as an exhibition of IP products and services, an exhibition of geographical indication (GI) products, and a deal-matching gathering of GI products, were also held.

(Source: CNIPA Website)