BEIJING — Foreign enterprises are growing increasingly satisfied with China's intellectual property (IP) protection, a survey released by the industry watchdog showed on Sept 6.

Social satisfaction with the country's IP protection last year shows a record high of 80.61 out of 100 points, according to the survey released by the National Intellectual Property Administration.

Zhang Zhicheng, an official with the administration, highlighted that joint ventures and foreign-funded enterprises showed scores of 4.52 points and 2.36 points higher than the figures for 2016, respectively.

The official attributed the high level of satisfaction to stronger legislation, more effective law enforcement and more efficient IP examination.

The year 2021 marks the 10th consecutive year that the administration has performed such a survey. The respondents, mainly IP holders, professionals and the general public, are invited to grade an array of IP issues, including law enforcement, management and services.

Noting that foreign enterprises enjoy equal treatment with their Chinese counterparts, Zhang said that the number of patents and trademarks granted to foreign applicants in 2021 increased by 23 percent and 5 percent year-on-year, respectively.

"The growth fully demonstrates foreign enterprises' recognition of China's IP protection," said Zhang.