China's intensified efforts to protect intellectual property rights will help facilitate the cultivation of new quality productive forces and create immense business opportunities for multinational companies amid external challenges and uncertainties, experts and business leaders said at a high-level forum on Friday.

They said that IPR protection is playing an increasingly vital role in bolstering technological innovation, and injecting strong momentum into the country's high-quality economic growth. They also called for the strengthening of global IP cooperation to further optimize the business environment for foreign companies operating in China.

The remarks were made during the "CEO: Grow with China" Roundtable, which was jointly organized by the Intellectual Property Publishing House Co Ltd and China Daily Institute for Corporate Communication. It was a sideline event of the 14th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference, which opened in Beijing on Thursday.

Zhu Guangyao, China's former vice-minister of finance, said, "In recent years, under the guidance of the new development concept, we have focused on innovation and made a close connection between intellectual property rights protection and innovation."

He described the enhancement of IPR protection as a "safeguard for innovation".

Zhu said China is working to ensure that the strict regulations of its Patent Law and Copyright Law are being effectively enforced, adding that the country has also issued strict regulations on data and privacy protection, providing a strong foundation for the development of AI.

Highlighting that China has intensified its focus on R&D intensity, and boasts abundant science and engineering university graduates, Liu Qiao, dean of Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, said the country is quickly catching up with developed economies in terms of patent application intensity.

There is still room for improvement in the global competitiveness of Chinese IP, Liu added, emphasizing that more efforts should be made to increase investment in fundamental research, attract and develop top talents, and promote the application of technological innovation.

China has made significant strides in IP protection in the past few years, providing impetus for innovation and high-quality development. According to the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the number of valid domestic invention patents in China reached 5.01 million as of June this year, an increase of 13.2 percent year-on-year.

China has established partnerships with over 80 countries and regions in IP cooperation, and foreign applicants filed 94,000 trademark applications in China in the first half of the year.

Huge opportunities exist for multinational companies to invest in China and benefit from its expanding market, said Shirley Zhao, president of Astellas China.

"We are investing in China, and we will continue to invest in China," Zhao said. "A better IPR protection and business environment boost our confidence, as well as the confidence of other multinational companies."

Ian Shih, president of Rockwell Automation (China) Ltd, said China ensures equal treatment of domestic and foreign companies in IPR protection, particularly in terms of enforcement and policy implementation, and it's a process that empowers innovation.

"China is no longer just a basic producing factory for the world. It is becoming a global innovation hub, with Chinese IPs and standards increasingly going global," Shih said.

"Chinese IP laws and regulations are becoming not only world-class, but also very innovative. That's something very important in my opinion to protect companies and innovations. It actually encourages both foreign investments and domestic investments in innovation," said Rani Jarkas, chairman of Cedrus Group. He said the company is increasing its investment in China and in biotech and innovative technologies.

David Blair, vice-president of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, said: "In the US, we moved heavily toward a monopolized economy. The amount of concentration in company domination in almost every sector is increasing dramatically. And somehow, that's made possible through the use of the patent systems.

"So I'm encouraging China not to allow it to happen. It's important to have IP, but it's also important to ensure that IP doesn't kill the competitive economy."

Zhou Lanxu, Zhong Nan, Yin Ming-yue and Xu Yadi contributed to this story.