Value-added services helping private firms go international

Local governments in the country's southeastern region have been expanding value-added public services to help private firms go global safely and efficiently amid rising global economic volatility and a higher-level opening-up drive.

Zhejiang province, a powerhouse of private enterprises, has seen more than two million local entrepreneurs venture abroad, with footprints in over 180 countries and regions. The province counts 102,000 private firms with actual import-export performance, contributing close to 90 percent of Zhejiang's foreign trade growth, according to official data.

As Chinese companies scale up overseas, intellectual property risks have emerged as a pressing challenge.

In 2021, the global camping market surged. Yet Naturehike, a Ningbo-based outdoor brand, was ensnared in a trademark dispute, as its former exclusive distributor in the Republic of Korea held the locally registered trademark of the company's core logo and demanded $10 million for its transfer. The company, forced into a lengthy legal battle, ultimately reclaimed the trademark, but at a substantial cost.

Such cases are not isolated. A report by the China Intellectual Property Society showed that last year Chinese enterprises filed over 1,300 new IP lawsuits in the United States and other major countries and regions.

To address these risks, local authorities are building faster and more responsive service networks.

"Hangzhou is a center for AI innovation, and enterprises have strong demand for IP protection and dispute-handling services. To serve companies going global, our services must be both responsive and forward-looking," said Chen Zhaobo, head of the Hangzhou Intellectual Property Protection Center.

Jointly established by the China National Intellectual Property Administration and the Hangzhou municipal government, the center is China's first industry-specific IP protection hub. Its patent pre-examination service provides an expedited pathway to patent rights acquisition. "Through the Hangzhou IP Protection Center, the time taken to obtain a patent is 65.8 days on average — over 80 percent faster than standard application channels," Chen said.

The center also issues monthly overseas IP information and risk alerts, organizes targeted training, and compiles casebooks such as Typical Overseas IP Dispute Responses to help firms navigate complex and changing environments.

"Hangzhou is continuously improving resource pools, including overseas expert lawyers, service institutions and public service outlets, while developing regulatory interpretations and response guidelines tailored to key countries and regions," said Hu Yefei, an official with the IP development promotion division of the Hangzhou Administration for Market Regulation. "We have established liaison channels with service agencies in nine countries and regions."

As "Made in China" goes further abroad, the supply-demand imbalance in highly skilled talent is becoming more pronounced both at home and overseas. Domestic industrial upgrading requires strong talent support, while global expansion is often constrained by human resource gaps.

"In particular, there is a substantial shortage of personnel for installing, commissioning, maintaining, servicing, designing and applying automated equipment," said Chen Xing, director of organizational development at Haitian Plastics Machinery Group and general manager of Zhejiang Haitian Education Technology Co Ltd. "This is a common challenge for manufacturing enterprises."

To bridge the gap, Haitian — along with the Ningbo Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and Ningbo Technician Institute — jointly run the Ningbo Public Training Center.

"Take injection molding training as an example: the center delivers skills training for more than 1,000 trainees each year. Around 80 percent of the trainees are migrant workers, ordinary technicians, and even undergraduates in business or liberal arts," Chen said, adding that upon completion, the high-quality employment rate exceeds 98 percent.