Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province was recently included in a national program that involves building cities with strong intellectual property competiveness.

The city's innovation capability has been improving steadily in recent years. In a report released by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China, Huzhou was ranked sixth nationwide in terms of innovation capability.

Presently, the city has 15,500 valid invention patents and 109,800 valid registered trademarks. There are 46.16 invention patents, including 12.7 high-value ones, for every 10,000 residents in the city, the second highest in Zhejiang.

Fifty-two enterprises from Huzhou have been honored as national models in intellectual property development, and 42 patents from the city have won the China Patent Award, the only governmental award in China to reward inventions and creations with patent rights.

Huzhou has also been playing a leading role in the establishment of a trade secrets protection alliance and an intellectual property protection demonstration zone. It is the only city in Zhejiang where all administrative areas have an intellectual property industrial alliance.

In 2021, the city was ranked first in a provincial assessment for patent quality.