The Shanghai-Hong Kong special cooperation conference of the 11th Business of IP Asia Forum is held in Shanghai. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

Important progress was recently made in terms of working relations in intellectual property, or IP, between the city of Shanghai in East China and Hong Kong Administrative Region.

This followed the staging of the Shanghai-Hong Kong special cooperation conference of the 11th Business of IP Asia Forum, which was held on Dec 2 in the Changning district of Shanghai.

With its theme of "New IP Collaboration Opportunities between Shanghai and Hong Kong", the conference was organized by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, or SIPA, the Changning district government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, also known as the HKTDC.

Government officials and representatives from related institutions, associations and enterprises from Shanghai and Hong Kong explored potential collaboration between the two parties in the fields of innovation technology and IP.

Rui Wenbiao, the director general of SIPA, told the conference that IP work had to regarded as key to promoting the Shanghai's high-quality economic development and its business environment upgrading.

The city would make full use of its various kinds of channels to strengthen exchanges and collaboration between the IP administrations of Shanghai and Hong Kong, Rui added.

Lyu Jian, chief representative of the HKTDC East and Central China, pointed out that cooperation between Shanghai and Hong Kong had a long history and that scientific and technological innovation was the top priority for flourishing trade and commerce between the two.

During the conference, attendees also watched the opening ceremony of the 11th Business of IP Asia Forum live.

Jointly organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, the HKTDC and the Hong Kong Design Centre, the Business of IP Asia Forum brings IP professionals and business leaders from all over the world to discuss the latest developments in the IP world – and to explore business opportunities.