Source: Xinhua

China spent $28.74 billion for the use of intellectual property imports last year, official data show.

The figure was up nearly 14-fold from 2001 when the country joined the World Trade Organization, said the Report on China's Services Imports released by the Ministry of Commerce.

The United States was the top source for such imports, followed by Japan and Germany, according to the report, which was published on the sidelines of the first China International Import Expo held in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10.

Most of China's payments for the use of intellectual property imports were for patents, trademarks and copyrights, according to the report.

In 2017, the charges for the use of imported intellectual property accounted for 6.1 percent of China's total services imports, according to the report.

China has always been an important player in and an active builder and firm defender of international property rules, the Ministry of Commerce said in the report.

At present, China has joined almost all major international intellectual property conventions, it said.

China's cumulative services imports are expected to exceed $2.5 trillion over the next five years, according to the report.

The country's services imports will account for more than 10 percent of global services imports, contributing over 20 percent to the growth of the global total in the coming five years, the report predicts.

During the period, China will see over $700 billion of cumulative imports in emerging services, including charges for the use of intellectual property, telecommunications, computer and information services, financial services, and personal cultural and recreational services, the report said.

"This will provide a broader market, more valuable cooperation opportunities and greater benefits for the world," Xian Guoyi, head of the department of trade in services and commercial services at the Ministry of Commerce, said at a news conference held during the expo.