BEIJING, March 11 -- Foreign applicants hold more than 900,000 valid invention patents in China by 2023, up 4.9 percent year on year, said Shen Changyu, head of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, on Monday.

"This fully shows that foreign enterprises attach great importance to the Chinese market and have full confidence in China's intellectual property protection," Shen told journalists after the closing of the annual national legislative session.