China's PCT International Patent Applications Steadily Grow over the Past Six Years

Overall Trend

Over the past six years, China's PCT international patent applications have shown a continuous growth trend, with only a slight decline in 2023. According to public data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and industry estimates, China filed approximately 53,345 PCT applications in 2018, then increased year by year, surpassing 68,000 in 2020 and peaking at 70,015 in 2022. Although it fell back to 69,610 in 2023, the overall increase from 2018 is about 30.5%.

Key Milestones

• 2018–2019: Average annual growth rate of about 10.6%, driven by domestic innovation policies.
• 2020: Applications surged to 68,720 (up 16.5% YoY), reflecting heightened corporate attention to IP protection during the pandemic.
• 2021–2022: Growth slowed to about 1.2% and 0.7% respectively, as the base effect emerged.
• 2023: A slight drop of 0.6%, possibly related to global economic adjustments and some companies optimizing their international portfolios.

Structural Characteristics

• Applicant base is dominated by enterprises, with Huawei, OPPO, and BOE consistently ranking among the top.
• Technology fields concentrate on digital communication, computer technology, and electrical machinery.
• Overseas market expansion focuses on Europe, the US, Japan, and South Korea, while Southeast Asian emerging markets show rapid growth.

Implications and Outlook

The number of PCT applications is an important indicator of innovation capacity and internationalization. Chinese companies' continued increase in overseas patent filings signals a shift from "manufacturing going global" to "technology going global." Moving forward, with deeper regional cooperation such as RCEP and IP collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative, applications are expected to maintain steady growth.