China’s intellectual property rights (IPR) protection continues to grow in scope and strength.

The latest statistics from the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) show a 5.8 percent jump in domestic invention patent grants for 2018.

At the same time, domestic valid trademark registrations increased by 32.8 percent.

“For 2018, China’s top three domestic enterprises for invention patent grants were: Huawei Technologies Company, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Guangdong Opal Mobile Communications Company,” Hu Wenhui, spokesman for the NIPA said.

The international community has launched more patent applications in China as well.

China saw 148,000 foreign invention patent applications in 2018, a 9.1 percent increase over the previous year.

Foreign trademark applications saw a 16.5 percent rise, standing at 244,000 for the year.

“The continuous increase in the number of foreign intellectual property applications in China shows the recognition and confidence of foreign companies in the protection of intellectual property rights in China,” Hu added.

Despite the progress of IPR protection, Hu said, the quality of patents and trademarks has also been strictly controlled. Abnormal applications and trademarks are routinely rejected.