Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. Photo: VCG

China took the first spot in 2020 among international patent applications for the second consecutive year in a United Nations ranking released Tuesday, demonstrating how China's achievement in intellectual property innovations, China's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Chinese applicants submitted 68,720 international patent requests last year, up 16 percent from 2019 despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 

"It showed that China is transforming from a big country that imports intellectual property rights to a country that creates intellectual property rights," Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's foreign ministry said.

Data released by China National Intellectual Property Administration revealed that the country authorized 530,000 invention patents in 2020, a year-on-year growth of 17.1 percent. Meanwhile the country also ranked 14th in the "Global Innovation Index" in 2020 as only middle-income economy in the top 30.

As China enters a new stage of development, it is systemically implementing a new development concept, which is inseparable from the strong support of intellectual property rights, Wang said.

"China is willing to work with other countries to continue to strengthen scientific and technological innovation and cooperation, actively participate in global intellectual property governance, and make more contributions to the balanced, inclusive and sustainable development of global intellectual property," he added.