Shen Changyu, Commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), on September 19, held a bilateral meeting with Denis Loukou Bohoussou, Director General of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) who came to China to attend the 12th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference. CNIPA Deputy Commissioner Lu Pengqi also attended the meeting.

Shen said that the Chinese government has been attaching great importance to IP protection and President Xi Jinping has given important instructions on it for several times. The OAPI has been an important cooperative partner of the CNIPA in Africa. The two sides have maintained profound friendship and close contact under the framework of bilateral agreement for a long time and carried out effective cooperation. We wish our two sides can continue expanding cooperation fields, and harvest more fruits with our joint efforts, to create a better business environment for Chinese and African enterprises and inject fresh vigor into the development of the international IP system.

Bohoussou appreciated CNIPA’s years of support to the OAPI. He said that the tremendous development of the China’s IP undertakings is worth learning. The OAPI looks forward to deepening friendship with the CNIPA, continuing profound discussions, elevating the level of cooperation and better serving the innovation and economic and social development of the two sides.

The two sides also exchanged ideas on the protection of geographical indications and staff training.

CNIPA principal officials responsible for the International Cooperation Department also attended the meeting.(Translated from CNIPA Website Chinese Version)