On Oct. 9, China’s State Council, the country’s chief administrative authority, issued an official reply to Temporarily Modifying the Implementation of Some Administrative Laws and Regulations and the State Council’s Papers at Pilot Zones for Deepening Innovative Development of Trade in Services. The reply approved the policy formulated by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) in June, where foreigners are allowed to take patent bar exam to obtain patent agent qualification certificate in China.

28 municipal cities and provinces were designated as the country’s Pilot Zones for Deepening Innovative Development of Trade in Services in August 2020.

China’s Regulations on Patent Application Services was amended in 2018. The policy about foreign patent agents was designed to further complement article 10 of the amended Regulations. According to the policy, test takers must be Chinese permanent residents with language proficiency eligible for Chinese-language patent exam and admitted as patent agents in other jurisdictions.