China’s Standards and Patent Conference Offers a Window into the Country’s Innovation Ecosystem

From 17 to 19 August 2026, the 5th Technology Exchange Conference on Standards and Patents was held in Qingdao, Shandong Province. Jointly organized by China Standardization Press, publisher of China Standardization magazine, and Shanghai Technology Exchange, with support from relevant local partners, the conference brought together more than 100 representatives from government agencies, standardization and intellectual property bodies, research institutes, and technology companies. Discussions focused on how China can improve its standard-essential patent (SEP) regime, create high-value patents, and use standards and patents to commercialize innovation and support industrial upgrading.

Ms. Yu Xinli, Chairperson of the China Association for Standardization (CAS) and former Director-General of the Department of Standards and Technology Management of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR); Mr. Xin Renzhou, former Level-I Inspector of the Department of Industrial Policy of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT); and Mr. Hu Tianqi, Vice President of Shanghai Technology Exchange, delivered opening remarks. Mr. Zhang Gang, former Counselor of the State Council, Vice Chair of the China Standardization Expert Committee, and member of the Strategic Advisory Committee for Building China into a Manufacturing Power, delivered a keynote speech.

Participants included the Patent Examination Cooperation (Beijing) Center of the Patent Office, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA); the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS); the China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI); the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); the China Association for Engineering Construction Standardization (CECS); ZTE Corporation; BGI Group; Shandong Haoyue New Materials Co., Ltd.; and the Zhongguancun Huaqing Graphene Industry Technology Innovation Alliance, as well as representatives of local standardization research institutions and the intellectual property sector. The conference was moderated by Wu Jinhui, President of China Standardization Press, and Guo Kai, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief.

As global competition in science and technology intensifies, coordinated standards and patent development has become a strategic innovation resource for shaping influence over industrial ecosystems. Both the Outline for National Standardization Development and the Outline for Building an Intellectual Property Powerhouse (2021–2035) call for improving China’s SEP regime and integrating patents more effectively with international standards development.

Ms. Yu noted that many Chinese enterprises still need to strengthen their understanding and use of SEPs and patents. She added that China’s influence in international standards development remains limited relative to the scale of its industries. Three questions are particularly pressing:

How can the interests of patent holders and technology implementers be balanced?
How can a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing environment be established?
How can more small and medium-sized enterprises translate innovation outcomes into value through standardization?

These questions require in-depth dialogue among government, industry, academia, and research institutions. Yu expressed hope that the conference would build consensus, share insights, promote the coordinated development of technological innovation, patent creation, standards adoption and industrial development, and help identify a Chinese approach to standards-patent coordination.

Mr. Xin emphasized that, as global technological change and industrial transformation accelerate, innovation has become the primary driver of development. Standards and patents are complementary institutional tools for commercializing innovation—like the two wheels of a cart or the two wings of a bird. Their deep integration is crucial for fostering new growth drivers and creating new competitive advantages. He said the conference supports implementation of the standardization outline and further improvements to standards-, patent-, and technology-related work.

Mr. Hu said Shanghai Technology Exchange is committed to commercializing scientific and technological achievements and operating intellectual property. Building on registration, custody, trading and settlement, it provides technology matchmaking, information and transaction services, while connecting financial capital with industrial clusters. Technology transactions, he noted, involve more than patent transfers; they also shape influence over standards. Creating an innovation ecosystem that turns patents into standards and standards into industrial outcomes is therefore essential to commercialization.

Drawing on practical cases, Mr. Zhang explained the standardization support for integrating technological innovation with industrial innovation from two dimensions: standards planning driven by technological innovation and standards supply guided by industrial demand. The Outline for National Standardization Development requires standards to be an important output of science and technology programs, and significant progress has been made in recent years.

Mr. Zhang said further support for this integration requires not only more standards but also a stronger focus on industrial application, closer coordination among the innovation, standards and industry chains, and a healthier standards application ecosystem. Standards supply should also draw more strongly on innovation in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology and communications technology. New standards should define industries while being grounded in original technologies, enabling standardization to lead industrial development.

During the keynote session, Ms. Cao Lili, Director of the Institute of Service Standardization at CNIS, said that collaboration between standards and patents has become a strategic global issue and that enterprises are the mainstay of Chinese practice. She outlined pathways and methods for such collaboration, offering guidance for enterprise innovation and industrial quality upgrading.

In a speech titled “Strategies for Mining and Drafting High-Value Patent Applications,” Ms. Liu Ling, Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Office under the Mechanical Department of the Patent Examination Cooperation (Beijing) Center of the Patent Office, CNIPA, aligned patent work with national development strategies and planning priorities. She reaffirmed the orientation toward high quality and high value and the need to support the development of new quality productive forces. She also explained how to assess high-value patents in terms of technological advancement, legal stability and market value, using practical cases to suggest future IP portfolio strategies.

Mr. Cai Chengjun, Vice Chairman of CECS, summarized three priorities for association standards: establishing a role, ensuring order and improving quality. He described 2026 as a critical year in which association standards management is shifting from “opening up” to “effective regulation” and “better services.” His review of recent policies, governance systems and innovation cases offered guidance for enterprises seeking to participate in and benefit from association standards.

During the exchange and discussion session:

Su Yi, Chief Data Officer of Shanghai Technology Exchange, summarized practices for assessing patent value within technology assets and related standards applications.
Xu Fang,ANSI Chief Representative in China, outlined the institutional foundations ANSI provides for developing American National Standards.
Gao Yanxuan, a CESI expert and Deputy General Manager of Beijing CESI Technology Development Co., Ltd., shared practical experience in coordinating intellectual property and standards.
Chen Guanglei, Director of Intellectual Property at ZTE Corporation, discussed how IP supports high-quality enterprise development.
Jiang Huayan, Chief Standards Officer of BGI Group, COO of BGI Cell, and CEO of BGI Saidis, shared BGI’s standardized biotechnology practices for products including deer antler and coffee.
Yao Meiqin, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Haoyue New Materials Co., Ltd., described how ISO standards helped a micro or small enterprise become a specialized and sophisticated “little giant” enterprise.
Dai Shifeng, Secretary-General of the Zhongguancun Huaqing Graphene Industry Technology Innovation Alliance, used nanomaterials as an example to explain efforts to integrate standards and patents in emerging technology fields.

From standards development to rule-making leadership, and from patent portfolio building to industrial upgrading, the deep integration of standards and patents is becoming an important driver of industrial innovation in China. The conference’s collective insights point to a clear direction: making standards the common language of innovation and patents the yardstick of industrial value.

Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/TkapmHtbIK9oGGXkZfUAWg