Intellectual property has long been a sticking point between China and the US. Back in January, when Washington and Beijing put pen to paper on a phase-one trade deal, the Chinese side introduced a raft of measures aimed at dealing with some of Washington's concerns. But it's not just the U-S. As China's economic model transitions towards "high-quality" development, there have been demands from domestic companies too. Greg Laffradi has more on how the Chinese government is responding.

China introduced two major policies aimed at improving the overall environment for IPR. One includes a channel aimed at reducing the time needed for companies wanting to obtain patents from up to three years to only one.

LIU ZHEN Deputy General Manager, Legal Department of Xiaomi Group "One of the research and development subjects, Xiaomi Mobile, has submitted nearly sixty patent applications through the priority channel in the past year. Ninety percent of them have been authorized within a year, and for utility models, this can happen within just two months."

FANG DONG Intellectual Property Director, VisionVera Information Technology "More than 2,000 patents have been applied since the company was founded in 2010. 318 patent technologies have been conducted successfully due to the priority policy over the past two years, and now over 30-percent of our products have received certificates."

Another one of the policies officials discussed Friday aims at helping these businesses access cheap bank loans and financial support based on the estimated revenue of their patents.

ZHU DONGYAN Chief Financial Officer, Silian Pharmaceutical "We have difficulties in terms of cash flow. Fortunately, we have gained 30 million yuan by using our IP patents as collateral, of which we have received 20 million in disbursements. This has really helped us solve the pressing needs we've had through COVID-19. The bureau has also given us support by discounting the amount of interest on our loans."

Officials and businesses praise the two policies for providing the tools enterprises need to speed up patent applications and increase financial support for those in need. 

(The original title of this article is Intellectual Property Rights: China looks back at two major policies amid at improving IPR for companies large and small)

(Edited by Ye Ke)