The Coordination of China’s Intellectual Property Policies: A Quantitative Analysis Based on Policy Texts

Building an intellectual property powerhouse represents China’s strategic response to the new round of technological and industrial revolution. Establishing a well-coordinated intellectual property policy framework is essential to provide the institutional foundation for achieving this goal. Recently, the Chinese government has actively introduced policies to advance intellectual property development. This study analyses the vertical and horizontal coordination of intellectual property policies across China’s national, provincial, and municipal levels, employing content analysis of policy texts from 2008 to 2024. Research findings reveal that China’s intellectual property policy framework remains imperfect, cooperation among policy entities requires strengthening, and structural imbalances exist in using policy tools. In light of the current state of intellectual property policy coordination in China, this study proposes three policy recommendations: to enhance policy adaptation to local contexts, to strengthen inter-departmental collaboration, and to promote a more balanced use of policy tools. These measures aim to foster an institutional environment conducive to innovation, with the ultimate aim of supporting China’s goal of building an intellectual property powerhouse.