Conclusions

Abstract

This book provides a timely and up-to-date evaluation of the risks that China’s IP regime poses to innovation. Our central finding is that China’s IP regime for innovation has improved notably over time, and therefore is more conducive to innovation than many believe, but it still poses noteworthy risks. The presence of these risks may, to varying degrees, negatively influence the innovation activities of both foreign and domestic firms, as well as other stakeholders participating in the innovation process. In turn, this poses a larger set of risks to China’s national development. More specifically, we argue that China still needs to address six intertwined IP-related challenges to become a high-income country. We explore each of these intertwined challenges in detail through the lens of several different aspects of China’s IP regime. We argue that China’s IP regime could benefit from additional reforms that we recommend. We believe the country is capable of building a world-class IP regime in the near future that can help it avoid the middle-income trap and become an innovation powerhouse.