China's enhanced awareness of intellectual property protection as well as its innovation output in science and technology over the past few years has been praised by Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

"China's innovation is not just on culture and traditional knowledge, but increasingly also on science and technology," Tang told China Daily in an exclusive interview while attending the Third Belt and Road High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property in Beijing on Wednesday.

He lauded China's innovation achievements after this year's WIPO Global Innovation Index showed that the country now leads the world with 26 scientific and technological clusters in the top 100.

"The ranking shows that China has paid a lot of attention to research and development, to scientific and industrial innovation," Tang said. "The trend, I think, is set to continue."

He gave a thumbs-up to China's use of science and technology to grow the economy, the combination of digital and industrial innovation, and the serious attention it has paid to IP rights over many years, adding that China's experience can be a model for other countries.

"Ideas can change the world. China's contribution to the IP world is the idea that a developing country or an emerging economy can shape the global IP ecosystem," he said.

Over the past 50 years, China's IP applications at home and abroad have grown rapidly.

China is among countries that celebrate the power of IP every year on April 26, which is World Intellectual Property Day, and it has also been actively involved in WIPO negotiations, according to Tang.

He highlighted the importance of partnership and collaboration in innovation, adding that initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative can serve as bridges to connect countries.

In his view, a big challenge now for China and many other countries is how to translate scientific achievements into actual products and services, "or how to optimize their skills to use IP, such as trademarks, designs and geographical indications, to bring the ideas to the market".

China has made big progress in IP protection and development over the decades, moving toward becoming a major IP power.

In the early 1950s, soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the nation formulated regulations to support inventions, patents and trademarks, which could be seen as the preliminary exploration of the IP legal system, according to the China National Intellectual Property Administration.

Rapid development emerged after 1978, when the reform and opening-up policy was promoted. In the 1980s, the Trademark Law and the Patent Law were adopted, signifying that the IP legal system had entered a new stage, the administration said.

Since 2012, the awareness of protecting IP rights and applying them to the market from central to grassroots areas has further increased, it added.

Data released by the administration in April showed that more than 1.67 million invention patents were applied for in China in 2023, up 3.6 percent year-on-year. The number was 825,000 in 2013.

Measures taken by government departments and judicial authorities to protect IP rights have also been further strengthened over the past decade. For instance, the country has four specialized courts focusing on the handling of IP disputes, with establishment of more than 20 IP tribunals and great efforts being made in IP talent education.