On May 12, 2026, the UN WIPO GREEN City Acceleration Beijing Special Event (2026) – “Innovation and Intellectual Property Accelerating Green Development” was held in Beijing. The event was co-hosted by the Beijing Municipal Intellectual Property Office (BJIPO), the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, and the WIPO Office in China, and organized by the Bluetech Clean Air Alliance (BCAA). Over 150 representatives from government departments, international organizations, green technology enterprises, investment institutions, legal service providers, and the media gathered to engage in in-depth discussions on green technology innovation and international intellectual property (IP) strategies. They jointly reviewed the fruitful achievements of the WIPO GREEN City Acceleration Project over its five years of implementation in Beijing
Guest Remarks
Guy PESSACH
Guy PESSACH, Director of the IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector (IES), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), delivered congratulatory remarks via video. He highly recognized the achievements of the Beijing pilot and pointed out that Beijing, as the first pilot city globally, has set a positive example for the development of China’s green innovation network. The event marked the successful conclusion of the second China Greentech IP Management Clinic (IPMC), which provided customized IP guidance to Chinese green technology enterprises, assisting them in completing IP identification, protection, commercialization, and scaling. China holds a prominent position in the global green innovation landscape, contributing over two-thirds of energy transition investments, holding 36% of global green and low-carbon invention patents, with 70% of innovations originating from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Intangible assets constitute the core value of green technology enterprises, and IP is the key to transforming technology into global business. The two IPMC cohorts have attracted over 50 enterprises with remarkable results: the first cohort has filed more than 500 new patents; the vast majority have made significant progress in trademark registration, trade secret protection, and IP management systems; over 60% have launched international business and international IP strategies. The satisfaction rate of the second cohort reached 100%. The program will be expanded to more Chinese cities and innovation communities in the future. WIPO will continue to provide full support to help Chinese green innovation enterprises enhance their global competitiveness.
Hua LIU
Hua Liu, Director of the WIPO Office in China, noted in her address three major trends in green innovation: the integration of digital and green technologies, the accelerated industrialization of green technologies, and IP becoming a core variable in green competition. The WIPO GREEN has yielded rich results over the five years in China, forming a “five cities in five years” layout. Beijing, as the first global pilot, has achieved outstanding results: 31 needs were collected, over 140 technology solutions were matched, 17 cooperation agreements were signed, and 4 of them were implemented. The “Beijing-Changzhi Cooperation” model has also extended the pilot’s experience to Changzhi, Shanxi Province, and was selected as a WIPO GREEN Annual Case. The Beijing pilot also pioneered the IPMC, which has been held for two consecutive sessions with remarkable outcomes. It created the first “Technology + IP + Business” composite training model, bringing together experts from WIPO headquarters, international specialists, and top mentors from institutions including King & Wood Mallesons, Liu Shen Law Firm, and Yinghe Law Firm, producing 50 IP strategic roadmaps that help enterprises leap from “technology going global” to “technology + IP going global.”
Liquan ZHOU
Liquan Zhou, Deputy Director of the BJIPO, stated that Beijing is empowering green innovation through IP, opening a fast-track patent pre-examination channel for energy conservation and environmental protection, and promoting the transition of green technologies from the lab to real-world application, thereby offering a “Beijing solution” for the transformation of megacities. SMEs are the main force in green innovation, and Beijing continuously empowers green technology enterprises through the IPMC. This event built a one-stop matchmaking platform to efficiently integrate technology, capital, and industry. Moving forward, Beijing will focus on three tasks: strengthening IP cultivation for SMEs to enhance their international competitiveness; building an international cooperation platform to facilitate two-way exchange of green technologies and standards; and refining the WIPO GREEN Beijing model to generate replicable experiences. Beijing will deepen its collaboration with WIPO, strengthen IP protection, and support the construction of a benchmark international green economy city.
An official from the Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection Division of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform stated that in recent years, Beijing has centered its efforts on five major benchmarking initiatives—green technology innovation, green industry cultivation, green livable city construction, green culture nurturing, and green cooperation and sharing—to establish a comprehensive, multi-level green and low-carbon development system. The core of urban green and high-quality development lies in technological innovation, the key lies in the transformation of achievements, and the guarantee lies in IP protection. To this end, the Commission will focus on three areas: strengthening policy empowerment, improving the pilot-testing and transformation support system, and promoting the industrialization of cutting-edge technologies; improving the market ecosystem, accelerating the operation of the National Green Technology Exchange, and activating green development momentum; and deepening international exchanges and cooperation, relying on platforms such as WIPO GREEN to promote the sharing of green technologies, standards, and services. Beijing is willing to join hands with all parties to build global consensus through open cooperation and jointly advance the green and low-carbon transition.
Ling ZOU
WIPO GREEN China Ambassador Ling Zou stated that Beijing, as WIPO GREEN’s first global city pilot, has formed replicable Chinese practices through five years of exploration, and the acceleration project has expanded to multiple cities. IP is a key support for green innovation and transformation. China has contributed over 13,000 green technologies to the WIPO GREEN database, and 16 innovators have joined the WIPO GREEN partnership network. Beijing introduced the IPMC to help green SMEs enhance their IP portfolio and internationalization capabilities. Looking ahead, WIPO GREEN’s work in China will focus on three major directions: deepening the city acceleration projects to match technology supply and demand; empowering SMEs to strengthen their full-chain IP capacity; and expanding the cooperation network to promote the two-way flow of Chinese and international green innovation resources.
Beijing Pilot Achievement I: Closing Ceremony of the Second IPMC
Group Photo of Graduating Enterprises
Certificates of Completion
As a highlight of the event, the closing ceremony of the second “China Greentech IP Management Clinic (IPMC)” was held. The IPMC aims to provide systematic IP strategy training and one-on-one mentoring for founding and management teams of green technology enterprises, supporting them in developing a global-oriented IP strategy. The second IPMC was hosted by WIPO, officially supported by the BJIPO, and executed by BCAA, with support from organizations including BOE, CATL, Tencent, Xiaomi, GCL, China Energy News, and China Intellectual Property News. A total of 25 enterprises participated in the accelerator. Leaders from WIPO, the BJIPO, and BCAA jointly presented the certificates of completion, co-signed by WIPO headquarters and BCAA, to the graduating enterprises of the second cohort (see the handbook for the list of graduating enterprises and mentors).
Hongxing XIE
Hongxing Xie, Director of BCAA, noted that China has become one of the world’s leading powers in green technology innovation. From 2016 to 2024, the cumulative number of published global green and low-carbon patent applications exceeded 1.5 million, with China accounting for 45% of that total. Behind this numerical lead, industries such as photovoltaics and batteries face severe “involution” difficulties. Being large but not strong, and lacking a high-quality IP core, has become the critical challenge for the sustainable competitiveness of China’s green technology industry. The launch of the China Greentech IP Management Clinic aims to use IP as a leverage point to build differentiated competitive advantages and brand strengths, helping China’s green technology sector move from “leading in quantity” to “leading in quality,” build sustainable advantages amid global competition, and contribute Chinese innovations to global efforts addressing climate change and sustainable development.
Guangkui PAN, Jiantao XU, Zhao LUO (from left to right)
At the closing ceremony, Guangkui Pan, Chairman of Beijing Warmland Energy Service Co., Ltd., Jiantao Xu, Co-founder of Beijing IntelliUnity Technology Co., Ltd., and Zhao Luo, Co-founder of Hefei Leaf Biotech Co., Ltd., shared their experiences as enterprise representatives. They noted that the IP strategy knowledge provided by the accelerator is urgently needed for corporate strategic development and constitutes professional guidance that is difficult to obtain on the market.
Yugong QIN, Weilin ZHANG, Omer HIZIROGLU (from left to right)
Mentor representatives Yugong Qin, Senior Partner at King & Wood Mallesons, Weilin Zhang, Director General of Singapore Asia-Pacific Intellectual Property Company, and Omer HIZIROGLU, Partner at Azur Strategy (France), also affirmed the growth of the participant enterprises from international and professional practice perspectives.
Beijing Pilot Achievement II: Release of the WIPO GREEN Beijing Pilot Progress Report
Peter OKSEN
Another important outcome of the Beijing pilot, the WIPO GREEN Beijing Pilot Progress Report, was released on site. Peter Oksen, Senior Officer at WIPO GREEN and one of the report’s authors, shared a video message and highly commended the achievements of the Beijing pilot. Mr. Oksen stated that WIPO GREEN has now launched 21 acceleration projects across 18 countries worldwide, with China undoubtedly being one of the most central countries. The Beijing City Project was the first acceleration project launched in China and WIPO GREEN’s first attempt at the city level. The successful progress of the Beijing pilot has spurred the participation of Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and other cities.
WIPO GREEN Beijing Pilot Progress Report
The 10th “Innovation for a Green Future” IP Strategy Training
Miao QU, Hongbo FENG (from left to right)
The event also featured a dedicated “Innovation for a Green Future” IP strategy training session. Miao Qu, Senior Partner at King & Wood Mallesons, gave a presentation on “International IP Strategy for Global Development,” offering an in-depth analysis from an international perspective on best practices for overseas patent layout, risk mitigation, and achieving business objectives. Hongbo Feng, Advisor at Beijing Yinghe Law Firm, presented on “Strategies for High-Value Patent Drafting and Filing,” combining real-world cases to offer practical methods for high-value patent mining and portfolio building, helping enterprises construct core IP barriers in the green technology field.
Green Needs and Technology Matchmaking
Signing Ceremony
The green technology showcase and matchmaking session was another highlight. Representatives of a technical cooperation facilitated by the Beijing pilot—Beijing Zhongnong Haorun Agricultural Biotechnology Development Co., Ltd. and a team from China Agricultural University—held a MOU signing ceremony on liquid degradable mulch film technology.
Qingyong TIAN, Guangkui PAN, Yuxuan LAN, Jinshi YANG, Guohai ZOU (from left to right)
Subsequently, five outstanding green technology enterprise representatives presented cutting-edge green technologies: Qingyong Tian, General Manager of Kunshan GCL Optoelectronic Material Co., Ltd.; Guangkui Pan, Chairman of Beijing Warmland Energy Service Co., Ltd.; Yuxuan Lan, Co-founder of Beijing Phabuilder Biotechnology Co., Ltd.; Jinshi Yang, Founder of Hefei POLY Advanced Materials Technology Co., Ltd.; and Guohai Zou, Sales Director of Exa Energy Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. Their presentations covered high-efficiency perovskite photovoltaic modules, synthetic biology new materials, AI-deeply-integrated building energy management, carbon-negative new materials, and commercial applications of CO₂ energy storage power stations.
Jinze LIU, Hanyang XU, Lijie ZHAO, Lijian ZHAO (from left to right)
Guests including Jinze Liu, Partner at Yijun Capital; Hanyang Xu, Founding Partner at Newlight Capital; Lijie Zhao, Senior Partner at Beijing Yinghe Law Firm; and Lijian Zhao, Director of the Green Technology Research and Investment Promotion Center, Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS), provided professional commentary on the technological prospects, business models, investment value, and legal risks, fostering lively on-site interaction.
Event Venue
The event also attracted widespread participation from representatives of major state-owned energy enterprises such as CNPC, CNOOC, SPIC, State Grid, and CECEP; large private enterprises including Tencent Group, Xiaomi Group, GCL Group, and Shengda Group; as well as representatives from multinational companies and international institutions such as TotalEnergies, Saudi Aramco, China-Germany Securities, the British Embassy in China, and the Canadian Embassy in China. Achievements of the Beijing pilot project have previously been unveiled and showcased on international stages such as the COP, the Boao Forum for Asia, the Zhongguancun Forum, and the WIPO GREEN 10th Anniversary Celebration. This event serves as a continuation of the “Innovation for a Green Future” green technology and IP series, and constitutes an important activity of the WIPO GREEN global partnership network in China.
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