China's valid invention patents surpass four million

China had more than 4.015 million valid invention patents by the end of 2023 (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), said Hu Wenhui, deputy director of the China National Intellectual Property Administration(CNIPA), at a press conference held on January 16. This marks a 22.4% year-on-year increase and makes China the first country in the world to surpass four million valid domestic invention patents. Hu mentioned that it took 31 years to reach the first million, but only a year and a half to reach the fourth million. Of the four million patents, over 40% are considered high-value inventions. Statistics also show that in 2023, China granted 921,000 invention patents, 2.09 million utility model patents, and 638,000 design patents.