Chinese officials need to make better use of the nation's current patent inventory, said the nation's top intellectual property official.

Right now, officials tend to narrowly focus on increasing the number of patents and patent applications when they should be looking for ways to monetize the nation's current intellectual assets, said Tian Lipu, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office.

In an interview with China News Service during the ongoing annual Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Tian said that the task at hand is to make China into a powerhouse for the commercialization of technologies, laying the foundation for a new stage of IP development.