Sun Yong attracted attention at the China International Patent Fair in Dalian, Liaoning province, on Sept 12.

He put several peaches into his patented washing sink and pushed a button.

A minute later, he took the fruit out and handed them to visitors. "Can you find fuzz on them?" Sun asked. He was confident about the ability of his product.

"It's like a small power washing machine. Utilizing the technology of swirling flow and supersonic waves, it can clean fruits, vegetables, and bowls," he said.

The fair, which was themed "innovation changes life and creation realizes dreams", showcased the latest patents in various fields, particularly those from the energy saving and environmental protection sectors.

The three-day event attracted more than 6,000 patents owned by 1,700 companies and institutions from 17 countries and regions including Russia, the United States and the Czech Republic.

Delegates from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Pakistan attended the fair for the first time, according to Jiang Qinyu, head of Dalian Intellectual Property Office.

"They have good technologies and their patented products are fine and not that expensive. We are trying to open the central and eastern European markets," Jiang said.

Placha Kralova, business development manager of Czech Technical University in Prague, and her colleague brought some patents to the fair.

"We have already cooperated with Chinese companies such as China CNR Corporation. This time, we expect to find more companies or universities to cooperate in research and commercialization of patents," she said.

Exhibition delegations from 11 provinces and 10 cities in China were also at the fair.

The CIPF was inaugurated in 2002 and was sponsored by the State Intellectual Property Office, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Liaoning provincial government.

"As the only State-level international patent fair, the CIPF has played an important role in promoting the national strategies concerning innovation-driven development and intellectual property," said SIPO Commissioner Shen Changyu.

"It also promoted the commercialization and industrialization of patents and boosted the industrial structure optimization and adjustment," he said.

Statistics from the organizing committee showed that more than 400,000 visitors attended this year's event and 800 agreements worth 3.38 billion yuan ($550.5 million) were signed during the fair.

On the first day of the fair, Dalian Science and Technology Bureau initiated the "scientific technology compass", an online platform for exchanges of patents and scientific technologies.

The fair also accommodated nearly 20 seminars on various topics, including "the utilization of intellectual property rights and the innovation and development of city", "smart city", and "robotic and intelligent manufacturing". Experts, scholars, and business elites both from China and abroad discussed cutting-edge technology and the utilization of intellectual property rights.

Contact the writers at [email protected] and [email protected]

(China Daily 09/17/2014 page17)