Invention patent applications filed by foreign entities and individuals in China reached 136,000, growing by threefold compared with 33,000 in 2001. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, 51,000 patent applications filed from China through the Patent Cooperation Treaty were accepted in 2017, second only to the US.
5. Fulfilling commitments on transparency
Providing a solid legal basis. The Legislation Law, the Regulations on Procedures for Formulation of Administrative Regulations, and the Regulations on Procedures for Formulation of Rules explicitly provide for the solicitation of public comments on draft laws, administrative regulations and rules. The legislative affairs commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress regularly publishes the Laws of the People's Republic of China (English edition); the State Council's legislative affairs organ regularly publishes the Laws and Regulations of the People's Republic of China Governing Foreign-Related Matters (Chinese and English bilingual edition); and the Ministry of Commerce regularly publishes trade policies in China Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Gazette.
Comprehensively implementing the WTO notification obligations. China has submitted notifications to the WTO on a regular basis concerning the amendment, revision and implementation of relevant laws, regulations and measures as required by the WTO. By January 2018, China had submitted over one thousand notifications covering areas such as central and sub-central subsidy policies, agriculture, technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures, state trading, trade in services, and IPR laws and regulations.
6. Making tremendous efforts to honor its commitments
China made extensive and profound commitments on opening up when entering the WTO. Domestic companies were confronted with international competition, and most industries faced great difficulties. Rising up to these challenges, Chinese companies took the initiative to promote structural readjustment, participated in the global value chains and significantly increased their international competitiveness.
| Box 1. The Automobile Industry's Costly Adjustment |
| Before WTO accession, China's automobile industry lagged far behind developed members in terms of production scale, product quality, manufacturing technology, R&D capacity, costs and prices, and brand development. After |
