GENEVA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- As China's economy is undergoing a fundamental transition towards a knowledge-based economy, its intellectual property (IP) system has seen tremendous development, and fares much better than the global average in terms of women's inventions, the chief of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday.

On the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day, WIPO released Thursday the latest figures that indicate the highest-ever rate of women inventors, especially in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and chemistry.

In total, women were listed in 31 percent of the some 224,000 international patent applications published by WIPO in 2017, up from 23 percent a decade earlier.

It shows positive trends and underlines this year's World IP Day theme "Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity," said WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry.

Speaking of China in terms of women's inventions, Gurry said the country actually "fares much better than the global average" as around 48 percent of international patent filings from China list at least one woman inventor. "Frankly, we do not really know why China is showing a better gender balance, but there may well be something that other countries can learn from China."

The WIPO chief said as China's economy is undergoing a fundamental transition towards a knowledge-based economy, the IP system there has seen tremendous development.

That's reflected in the number of IP applications that WIPO statistics report every year. In 2011, for the first time, more patents were filed in China than anywhere else in the world, and since then, China's lead has widened.

In WIPO's latest report released in March, China moved into the second position as a source of international patent applications filed via WIPO in 2017, closing in on long-time leader the United States. Two Chinese technology companies, Huawei and ZTE, ranked the top filers of international patent applications in 2017.

"The rapid development of China's IP system has also manifested itself in other ways, notably increasingly sophisticated IP management capabilities in companies and universities, and a modern legal infrastructure that supports the use of IP," Gurry said.

"Patents are the result of sustained investments in research and development (R&D), and Huawei and ZTE have developed large-scale R&D capacity, notably in the area of digital communication. They have long featured prominently among the top PCT (WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty) applicants," he added.

In addition to those big Chinese brand names like BOE, Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi, Gurry mentioned that more new Chinese companies are moving into the top-50 PCT applicant list, "like LE, Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics and Yulong Shenzhen that are not yet household names outside of China."

"PCT applications of Chinese origin have grown rapidly over the past decade. Indeed, in 2017 China overtook Japan to become the second biggest filer of such applications. If current trends persist, it is only a matter of time before China overtakes the United States as the top origin of international patent applications," said the WIPO chief.

Besides IP applications, Gurry also underlined that trademark applications from China have seen among the fastest growth under the so-called Madrid System, through which WIPO registers international trademark applications.

"In 2017, China became its third largest user (of Madrid System). Building brand reputation is important to gain a foothold in international markets. Consumers value cutting-edge technology, but they also value quality, reliability and brand image. Trademarks support companies in their efforts to gain consumers' trust," he added.

World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on April 26. The event was established by WIPO in 2000 to "raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life" and "to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe."