In the 2018 Survey on the Implementation of the PCT system in China conducted by China National IP Administration (CNIPA), it’s reported that:

(1)The PCT applications maintained a high growth trend, the number of PCT international patent applications from China in 2018 was 53,345, ranking second in the world.

(2)The geographical distribution of PCT applications and the distribution of technical fields remain concentrated; Geography wise, China's PCT applications in 2017 were still mostly from the regions such as Guangdong, Beijing and Jiangsu.

(3) The PCT applications are mostly filed through agency and by the means of electronic submission.

(4) The distribution of Chinese PCT applications entering the national phase is relatively concentrated in the fields of optics, semiconductors, audio-visual technology, digital communications, and computer technology. Among them, the proportion of optical, semiconductor, audio-visual technology and digital communication has exceeded 50%, and the optical field has reached 71.7%.

(5) The efficiency of using the PCT system, for some applicants, has improved significantly. From 2012 to 2014, the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea remained as the main target countries and regions for China's PCT applications to enter the national phase. During the period, the average number of times for each Chinese PCT application to enter the foreign country’s national stage had increased from 0.78 to 0.85.

(Source: CNIPA website)