Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Gree Electric Appliances of Zhuhai is committed to producing products of good quality with independent intellectual property rights. [Photo by Zhong Fan / Zhuhai Daily]

Thanks to the great emphasis Gree Electric Appliances puts on independent R&D of core technology more than 1,200 of its invention patent applications were authorized last year, over half of the city's total.

The world's leading manufacturer of household electric appliances headquarted in Xiangzhou District was the only enterprise in the field to break into the top 10 list for invention patent authorized. Gree is the first electric appliances enterprise in the country to realize the goal of more than 1000 such authorizations in a single year. The ranking was released by the State Intellectual Property Office to encourage invention and creation in the hopes of invigorating economic development.

The achievement was credited by the company to the continuous ongoing input of talent and capital resources into R&D. An annual investment of at least 4 billion yuan ($631 million) in that area in recent years gave it sound financial support.

According to a company manager, Gree had only 3 major research institutes before 2012 but built another 12 within the last five years. Currently there are 72 R&D institutes of smaller size and 727 advanced laboratories with more than 10,000 scientific research personnel. The number of patent applications increased from about 5,000 in 2012 to more than 33,000 in 2017.

The China Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Hengqin Forum 2017 is held at the Zhuhai International Convention & Exhibition Center last August to discuss opportunities and challenges faced by IPR operations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Zhuhai government's promotion of innovation and protection of intellectual property rights also contributed to the breakthrough.

Thanks to its efforts the city has become a National Pilot City of National Intellectual Property and a Pilot City for IP pledge financing, as defined by the State Intellectual Property Office.

Statistics show that the city recorded 20,737 patent applications last year with the number granted surging 35.1 percent to 12,544. For every 10,000 people in Zhuhai there was an average of 50 patents for inventions, the second highest ratio in Guangdong Province.

The Hengqin International Intellectual Property Exchange (HIPEX) National Platform Agency, which integrates online trading and management with innovative financial tools, is part of the city's efforts to pioneer IPR protection. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]