By Greg Gao

(JW Insights) Oct 26 -- In 2022, Chinese organizations applied for 29,853 AI-related patents, which is an increase from the 29,000 applications the previous year. This is nearly 80% more than the 16,805 applications from the United States according to the latest data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The data indicated that China's lead in the field of artificial intelligence patent applications is expanding over the United States, which which saw a 5.5% decrease in applications.

Chinese AI application patents accounted for more than 40% of global AI applications in the past year. Japan and South Korea also made it to the top ranks of the 2022 patent application list with a combined total of 16,700 applications, WIPO’s statistics showed.

These numbers highlight China's efforts in propelling businesses and organizations to gain an advantage in areas such as chip manufacturing, space exploration, and military science.

China’s tech giant Baidu is currently in competition with Alibaba, Tencent, as well as startups like Baichuan and InnoPhi, to develop local solutions in response to the competition from American rival OpenAI's generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT.

Some industry experts believe that establishing a patent library is one of the most effective methods to counteract American restrictions.

As early as 2017, China surpassed the United States in the number of AI patent applications, as local businesses accelerated the use of algorithms in a wide range of operations, from ride-hailing to online shopping.