China's intensified efforts to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) will help facilitate the cultivation of new quality productive forces and create immense business opportunities for multinational companies amid external challenges and uncertainties, experts and business leaders said at a high-level forum on Friday.

They said that IPR protection is playing an increasingly vital role in bolstering technological innovation, and injecting strong momentum into the country's high-quality economic growth. They also called for the strengthening of global IP cooperation to further optimize the business environment for foreign companies operating in China.

The remarks were made during the "CEO: Grow with China" roundtable, which was organized by the Intellectual Property Publishing House Co Ltd and the China Daily Institute for Corporate Communication. It was a sideline event of the 14th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference, which opened in Beijing on Thursday.

Zhu Guangyao, China's former vice-minister of finance, said, "In recent years, under the guidance of a new development concept, we have focused on innovation and made a close connection between intellectual property protection and innovation."

Zhu described the enhancement of IPR protection as a "safeguard for innovation".

Zhu said China is working to ensure that the strict regulations of its Patent Law and Copyright Law are being effectively enforced, adding that the country has also issued strict regulations on data and privacy protection, providing a strong foundation for the development of artificial intelligence.