There appear to be some serious discussion of late regarding China using its IP laws to encourage more innovative drugs.  One significant advance was the recent amendments to China’s Patent Examination Guidelines to permit post-filing supplementation of data in certain circumstances.

In addition to this reform, there is also talk of China addressing issues involving data exclusivity, lack of patent term extension and patent linkage.

CFDA Commissioner Bi Jingquan noted some of these developments at a press conference at the time of the NPC Meeting on February 27，2017:

鼓励药品的创新。我们要研究鼓励药品创新的政策，完善药品专利链接和数据保护制度，并且实现境内外临床数据的国际互认，降低企业的研发成本。

We want to study the policy of encouraging drug innovation, improve patent linkage and the data protection system, and to achieve domestic and international clinical data mutual recognition, reducing the cost of R &

Commissioner Bi also made a similar point in an interview on October 31, 2016:

..要努力建立鼓励创新的药品审评审批制度，完善法规制度、政策措施、技术指南，以临床为导向重构药品审评流程，以审评为中心整合监管资源，提高审评能力和监管效率，研究临床试验管理、数据保护、专利链接等与创新密切相关的政策，以监管制度创新推动制药业转型升级和供给侧结构性改革。

…efforts should be made to… research clinical trial management, data protection, patent linkage and other policies closely related to innovation, to promote regulatory innovation to promote the transformation and upgrading of the pharmaceutical industry and supply side of the structural reform.

One pharma company (  天士力) CEO also made a case for patent term extension at the NPC meetings, due to regulatory delays.

None of these pharmaceutical IP issues are totally new to China.  Hopefully, their endorsement by industry and government leaders will help speed their consideration  and implementation.