China handled 270,000 entries of trademark registration in 2001, ranking first in the world, the "People's Daily Overseas Edition" reported Saturday.

China had received 1.45 million effective trademark applications by the end of last year, equivalent to that in Japan and the United States, the paper quoted Ma Lianyuan, vice- commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office, as saying.

China ferreted out 38,000 cases of infringement of intellectual property rights, revoked 230 million illegal trademarks and confiscated 145 million yuan of illegal gains in 2001.