Patent-intensive businesses lead economic growth

Patent-intensive industries have been leading other sectors in the national economy in terms of economic benefits, innovation and dynamism, said intellectual property officials at a news conference last week.

The list of patent-intensive industries was unveiled at the news conference by the State Intellectual Property Office, containing eight sectors - basic information, software and IT services, modern transportation equipment, intelligent equipment manufacturing, bio-medicine, new materials, efficient energy preservation and environmental protection, and recyclable resources. They altogether cover 48 specific industries.

"The contribution of the patent-intensive industries to China's economic growth is prominent and increasing," said Gong Yalin, director of the planning and development department at SIPO. "They feature strong innovation and market competitiveness."

According to the 2015 report of China's patent-intensive industries, also unveiled at the news conference, those industries generated total added value of 26.7 trillion yuan ($3.9 trillion) in 2010-14, with annual growth rate of 16.6 percent on average. The figure accounted for 11 percent of the nation's GDP over the same period.

"Patent-intensive industries only employ 3.4 percent of the workforce while creating more than 10 percent of GDP," said SIPO spokesman Hu Wenhui.

Gong said the first report on patent-intensive industries worldwide was unveiled in 2012 in the United States, and in that same year SIPO started statistical research to compile their list.

He said the list can be used as a reference for the central and local governments to nurture patent-intensive industries and evaluate their development.

The research has found that the structure of the industries in China is similar to that of the US and Europe, mostly concentrating on electronics, telecommunications, chemistry, medicine and equipment manufacturing, he said.

Gong added that they have considered the characteristics of Chinese industrial development when deciding the research methods, so the patent-intensive industries in China are recognized in a well-rounded way.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/02/2016 page17)