File photo: VCG

China has already done plenty and will continue to strengthen legal enforcement in the area of intellectual property rights (IPR) in a bid to create a better business environment and convenience for foreign companies operating in China, a senior official told a press conference on Wednesday.

The remarks came after China and the US have achieved substantial progress in multiple areas after holding a new round of high-level economic and trade consultations earlier this month in Washington. During the talks, IPR protection was a main topic.

"IPR protection is an important aspect of the business environment. We must improve the business environment and provide convenience for all types of enterprises investing in China, while the other side should also do that for Chinese enterprises overseas," Ning Jizhe, deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said on Wednesday.

Ning said that China has strengthened IPR law enforcement in several aspects in recent days. These include tightening the crackdown on IPR violations, perfecting the penalty system in the IPR sector, improving the efficiency of IPR reviews, strengthening international cooperation in IPR protection, and supporting enterprises to attain and protect IPR overseas.

The efforts also achieved tangible results. In the first half of this year, the number of patents and trademarks applied by companies from foreign countries increased significantly. The number of patents increased by 8.6 percent and the number of trademarks increased by 15.4 percent year-on-year, according to NDRC data.

"We will vigorously strengthen law enforcement and speed up the formulation and improvement of relevant standards for patents, trademarks and copyright infringements. We will treat all domestic and foreign-funded enterprises equally, protect them equally, and improve the protection of trade secrets," according to Ning.

"Compulsory technology transfer will absolutely not be allowed," Ning stressed. 

Ning said that China has also compiled and published guidelines for patent applications for companies from countries including the US, Japan, Brazil, India and others.

"We will further expand the field of opening-up to the outside world, relax market access, and hope that foreign-funded enterprises will come to China to invest and start businesses in an environment that we are improving and will further improve," the official said.

China's Intellectual Property Administration has also launched a trial disciplinary measure for discredited individuals in the IPR field to enhance construction of a credit system in the IPR field, promote the implementation of joint disciplinary work in the patent field and optimize the business environment.