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BEIJING, July 17-- China will further strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights as part of effort in effectively protecting the lawful rights and interests of all types of market actors, fostering a more enabling business environment, boosting technological innovation, and deepening international cooperation, the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Wednesday. Premier Li pointed out that strengthening the IPR protection is the consistent position of the Chinese government. All companies registered in China, be it domestic or foreign-invested, will be treated as equals, and the lawful rights and interests of foreign businesses will be safeguarded. Strengthening intellectual property protection across the board was clearly set out in the Government Work Report this year. Recent years have seen China's notable progress in IPR protection. Since 2017, the National Intellectual Property Administration has commissioned a third-party survey every year, inviting the public to rate government performance in IPR protection. Results show the level of public satisfaction has been going up year after year. In the Global Innovation Index published by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2018, China moved up the ranking to No. 17 from No. 22 in 2017, making its way to the world's top 20 for the first time. "Further enhancing the protection of intellectual property rights is crucial to improving our property rights protection system. It is required by scientific and technological innovation and essential for China's greater opening-up," Li said. | 
