China holds world top number of patents in generative AI over the past decade: report

Chinese inventors have filed the highest number of patents related to generative artificial intelligence (AI) over the past decade, surpassing the U.S., South Korea, Japan and India by a significant margin, a report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Wednesday showed.

The report documents a change in global AI inventions from 2014 to 2023. A Chinese expert said that China's prominent performance noted in the report once again underscores the country's global leading position in AI development and innovation, despite relentless efforts by the Biden administration to curb China in areas such as chips and AI technology.

Between 2014 and 2023, there were 54,000 generative AI inventions globally, with over 25 percent emerging in last year alone, according to the report. During the period, China led with over 38,000 generative AI inventions, six times more than the second-ranked U.S., which had only 6,276 inventions, with South Korea following in third place with 4,155.

It is worth noting that according to the report six out of the top ten applicants for generative AI patents globally are Chinese enterprises or institutions. Tencent, Ping An Group, Baidu and the Chinese Academy of Sciences rank in the top four, with the U.S. tech giant IBM placing in the fifth.

In defining the generative AI, the report said that it allows users to create text, images, music and computer code, powering a range of industrial and consumer products, including chatbots like ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and Baidu's ERNIE. As an emerging field, generative AI patents currently account for only 6 percent of all AI patents globally, the report said, indicating a great potential for growth.

The Chinese expert said that the WIPO's report shows the efforts that China has made in boosting its AI capabilities over the years.

Over the past decade, from research institutes to enterprises, China has consistently kept pace with the forefront of the world in AI, demonstrating significant efforts and discoveries in this field, Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom industry observer, told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting that "the substantial number of patents is a direct reflection of China's efforts in the field of AI innovation."

In recent years, this trend has become even more pronounced as AI has rapidly driven the development of related industrial ecosystems. Chinese companies such as Baidu and Alibaba are intensifying their efforts to expand their presence in this booming field.

Despite U.S. relentless efforts to suppress China in the AI field, including export controls on high-end NVIDIA chips, AI development in China is thriving. This success is attributed to its vast application market, early-stage investments and supportive government policies, among other factors, experts said.

"China possesses a significant advantage with a vast annual production and the widest application scope of internet-based services globally, providing a good condition for the development of AI," Ma said.

Moreover, China's emphasis on talent development also plays an important part in driving its AI innovation growth. By certain measures, China has surpassed the U.S. as the largest producer of AI talent. According to recent research from MacroPolo, a think tank run by the Paulson Institute in the U.S., China has by some metrics eclipsed the U.S. as the biggest producer of AI talent, with the country generating almost half the world's top AI researchers. By contrast, about 18 percent come from U.S. undergraduate institutions.

Meanwhile, China has expanded its domestic AI talent pool over the last few years to meet the demands of its own growing AI industry. According to the U.S. think tank, China produces a sizable portion of the world's top AI researchers—rising from 29 percent in 2019 to 47 percent in 2022.

The WIPO's report also reflects China's contribution in being an important leading player in the AI innovation to the world.

On Monday, the 78th UN General Assembly adopted a China-led resolution on enhancing international AI cooperation, with over 140 countries supporting it. This highlights global consensus on AI governance and China's leadership, aiming for inclusive and sustainable AI development, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

China's development in AI has huge potential, however, the industry is still in the early stages and requires global cooperation not confrontation for win-win development. Instead of attempting to curb China in AI development, the U.S. should put more focus on advancing its own capabilities in the field, Ma said.