Source:China IP News
With operational coverage in over 400 cities of 11 markets worldwide including Southeast Asia and South America, Huolala has contributed to the digitalization of the cargo transport contracts. In the first half of the year, its global cargo transport revenue surged to US $3.93 billion, up 32% YoY. At the southmost end of the Africa Continent in South Africa, wind turbines at De Aar wind farm developed by the China Energy Investment Corporation are running hard to provide power for 300,000 households annually. The first China-funded, built and operated wind power project in Africa, has drastically optimized the local energy structure. In recent years, China has been using technological innovation and integration, industrial transformation and upgrade as foundations, digital economy and green development as paintbrushes to stroke vivid notes on the grand project of the Belt and Road (BRI).
According to a patent statistics report of 10 years (2013-2022) covering China and the participating countries of the BRI recently published by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), China and the partner countries have been gaining momentum in patent planning in key sectors like digital technology while China has become a pivotal contributor in global green, low-carbon technology innovation and worked with the partner countries to pave a green Belt and Road.
Booming patent planning in digital technology sector
The report shows that during the past decade, digital telecommunications (12,000) and computer technology (9,000) took up the biggest shares of patent applications of Chinese origin published in the partner countries with a combined 31.3% of all patent applications. "China has been heeding tremendous attention to the development of digital economy, and innovative activities have been dynamic in relevant key digital technology. Patent planning in pertaining fields can be a driver for relevant Chinese industries to be competitive in joint construction of the Belt and Road. Their innovations would eventually benefit the partner countries and their people," a principal official of CNIPA's Strategic Planning Department outlined.
Digital technology sector is also a strength of the partner countries' patenting activities in China. Semiconductor (16,000), computer technology (15,000), digital communications (13,000) and other digital technologies are among the most prolific patenting sectors for these partner countries in China during the past decade with a combined 27.3% of all patent applications - a clear indication of their attention to the Chinese digital economy market.
For a better connection of the 21st century's Digital Silk Road, China has been boosting technological innovation and integration to fill the digital gap. Zhu Keli, a standing director with the China Information Industry Association believed that China shall beef up information sharing and collaborative development with the partner countries in network information, artificial intelligence, big data and other digital technology software and hardware fields, set unified Belt and Road digital technology standards, expand multilateral and bilateral digital economy project cooperation, lead intelligent, platformized, green economic development mode and jointly build the industrial chain, value chain and credit chain of the Belt and Road.
Innovative construction of green Belt and Road sped up
Since the Belt and Road Initiative proposed, China and the partner countries have been carefully adding or deducting in terms of energy transformation, making a good use of wind and sunshine, and constantly boosting the green upgrade of the industrial chain. China has become an active player in green innovation and a crucial contributor to global green, low-carbon technology innovation.
According to the report, classified based on CNIPA's Green, Low-Carbon Technology Patent Classification System, 3,549 green, low carbon invention patents of Chinese origin were published in the partner countries in the past decade with an annual compound growth rate of 16.7%. The rate jumped to 37.3% in the past three years. Patent grants registered at 1,884 with an annual compound growth rate of 15.8%. The top three technological segments with the most grants of patents of Chinese origin in the partner countries are energy conservation and energy recovery/use (23.3%), carbon reduction of fossil energy (22.0%) and clean energy (20.8%). As the world's biggest clean energy market and equipment maker, China has been playing its strength in green technology innovation and propping up the joint construction of the Green Silk Road.
"China filed the most patent applications in fuel cell, getting ahead of Japan for the first time since 2018. China has already been the largest technology source and target market for power batteries. China's accumulation in these tech fields can easily roll with and support the green development of the Belt and Road," Xie Hongxing, Secretariat Director of Zhongguancun Bluetech Clean Air Alliance elaborated that during the joint construction of the Belt and Road, innovators and business operators in green technology sectors shall remain committed to digging the IP value and boost more technology export and licensing to expand new room for growing the green service trade while performing production themselves.
