The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 took place in Hainan from March 26th to 29th. Serving as a high-level dialogue platform characterized by its Asian essence and global impact, the conference provided a significant opportunity for diverse stakeholders to exchange ideas, impart experiences, and deliberate on collaboration. Hongxing (Tonny) Xie, Director of the Bluetech Clean Air Alliance, was invited to participate as a guest speaker in the "Intellectual Property for Sustainable Development" high-level roundtable. He presented the advancements achieved in Beijing Pilot of the WIPO GREEN China City Acceleration Project and engaged in discussions with fellow roundtable participants. This esteemed roundtable was jointly organized by the Boao Forum for Asia Secretariat and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
In his opening remarks at the Boao Forum for Asia, Mr. Tang outlined WIPO’s vision of a world where IP is “a powerful catalyst for all countries to create jobs, attract investments, support businesses, and for economic and social development,” as well as serving the needs of all member states. He added, “In these difficult and challenging times, our belief is that that IP can be a bridge, not just between an idea and the world, but also between different peoples and cultures from around the world. WIPO will work hard to support each Member State to use IP grow and develop, and the family of Member States to harness the power of innovation to address our common global challenges.”
The "Intellectual Property Rights Promotion for Sustainable Development Roundtable" was attended by various distinguished guests, including WIPO Director-General Daren Tang, Boao Forum for Asia Secretary-General Baodong Li, WIPO Assistant Director-General Edward Kwakwa, Commissioner of China National Intellectual Property Administration Changyu Shen, Vice Minister of Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee Jianchun Zhang, Deputy Secretary General of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Binying Wang, Vice Minister of State Administration for Market Regulation of China (SAMR) Chun Pu, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Education Work Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee Yingjie Yu, Director General of African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) Denis Loukou Bohoussou, Director General of African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO)
Bemanya Twebaze, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology of Cambodia Paksari, Managing Director of Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network (oriGIn) Massimo Vittori, Deputy Secretary General of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Ping Wang, Vice President of Tsinghua University, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Peixue Jiang, WIPO GREEN China Ambassador ,Chairman of Tianjin TEDA Energy Group Co Ltd. and Director of the Organizing Committee of the BFA Global Urban and Rural Development Forum (GURD) Ling Zou, Director of Bluetech Clean Air Alliance and National Coordinator of the WIPO GREEN China City Acceleration Project Hongxing (Tonny) Xie, Vice President and Head of Intellectual Property Department of Huawei Technology Co. Ltd. Zhiyong Fan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL) and Government
Affairs (GA) Qualcomm China Kun Qian, Chairman of Zhongguancun Development Group Jinfeng Pan, Director of the WIPO Lisbon Registry Alexandra Grazioli.
During the event, Mr. Xie announced the collaboration between Bluetech Clean Air Alliance and WIPO GREEN in launching the WIPO GREEN China City Acceleration Project. With the backing of the Beijing Municipal Intellectual Property Office and the WIPO China Office, Beijing became the inaugural city pilot for the WIPO GREEN Acceleration Project in 2021. Over the course of more than two years, the Beijing pilot has made significant progress, including assessing green technology needs of Beijing, identifying key areas such as carbon dioxide reduction, air pollution, and urban waste, and matching over 100 green technologies with 24 demands in these areas. Dozens of matchmaking activities were conducted, with three successful deployments. Additionally, initiatives like IP strategy training for green technology enterprises, hydrogen industry research, and the Bluetech Carbon Neutrality Pioneers Awards selection have been implemented in Beijing. The accomplishments of the Beijing pilot are were collected into the WIPO GREEN Progress Report and have been showcased at various international events, such as Zhongguancun Forum, BOAO Forum, and UN COP Conferences.
In early 2024, General Secretary Jinping Xi underscored Green development is the base color of high-quality development, and new quality productive forces are inherently green.
The Green Patent Statistical Report released by the National Intellectual Property Administration highlighted China's leadership in global green innovation, with the country authorizing 206,000 green and low-carbon patents from 2016 to 2022, representing 36.8% of the global total. China's robust domestic demand, coupled with significant exports in green sectors, such as new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic solar energy, positions the country as a key driver of global sustainable development.
Mr. Xie emphasized that the progress of China's green industry hinges on robust intellectual property. In 2024, the Beijing pilot plan aims to introduce the WIPO Intellectual Property Management Clinic (IPMC) project to support around 20 Chinese green technology companies in developing tailored intellectual property strategies through a five-month 1 on 1 coaching program. Another new initiative of the project aims to accelerate the commercialization of early stage green innovations from Universities and Research Institutions.
Director-General Daren Tang and other roundtable participants recognized and congratulated the progress achieved by the WIPO GREEN China City Acceleration Project pilot in Beijing so far. Tang addressed that the introduction of WIPO's IPMC program into China City Acceleration Project is a very positive progress and expressed his wishes for further advancements in this year's acceleration project.
