To enhance its commitment to high-level opening-up, China is improving the handling of international intellectual property disputes, resulting in more foreign enterprises selecting Chinese courts to resolve their cases, an official from the country's top court said.

Adhering to the principle of equal protection for litigants both at home and abroad, China has seen rapid growth in foreign-related IP cases, positioning itself as a preferred venue for handling international IP disputes, He Zhonglin, deputy chief judge of the Supreme People's Court's Intellectual Property Court, told a news conference on Monday.

According to data released by the SPC, courts nationwide accepted 11,066 first-instance IP cases involving foreign matters in 2025, up 34.1 percent year-on-year. He added that between 2019 and 2025, the IP Court handled 2,546 foreign-related cases, accounting for about one-tenth of all cases, with an average annual growth rate of 18.7 percent.

"Regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign, we have upheld equal protection, striving to provide a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment," he said.

He said judges, while respecting the wishes of both domestic and foreign litigants, have facilitated the resolution of many IP disputes through negotiation or mediation.

"This approach reflects traditional Chinese values of harmony and mutual benefit, as well as the integration of mediation and adjudication in China's judicial practice," he said.

After the conclusion of cases, many foreign parties sent letters praising the professionalism, fairness, efficiency and substantive dispute resolution of China's IP judicial system, he added.

He noted that the IP Court has embraced openness, cooperation and mutual benefit by strengthening international exchanges and participating in global intellectual property governance, aiming to use judicial measures to help build a community with a shared future for humanity.

In March, nine cases from Chinese courts involving IP protection in the seed industry were added to the database of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, highlighting China's contribution to global judicial protection in this field. UPOV, established in 1961, is an intergovernmental organization that provides a system for plant variety protection.

He emphasized the role of case studies in global IP governance and supporting high-level opening-up, calling on IP judges to focus more on international exchanges centered on cases and to release annual reports and judicial summaries in both Chinese and English.

As a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerates, Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the SPC, said Chinese courts have intensified efforts to strengthen IP protection in emerging sectors such as big data and artificial intelligence.

She said courts nationwide resolved civil cases and technological disputes related to AI-generated content and AI models last year, adding that the SPC is drafting judicial guidelines to improve the handling of AI-related cases and help judges address challenges more efficiently.

Li Jian, chief judge of the SPC's Third Civil Division, praised judicial efforts in handling IP disputes in emerging sectors, including integrated circuits, high-end instruments, advanced materials and biomanufacturing. He stressed the need to safeguard the legitimate rights of data resource holders, processors, users and product operators.