China 2026: Focus on AI
China's massive focus on artificial intelligence is a strategic response to profound structural problems: persistent weak growth, rising costs, an ageing society and limited fiscal leeway. As a data-rich country, China is using AI in a targeted manner to increase the productivity of its companies and upgrade the quality of its economy – in particular through more efficient industrial processes, smarter services and new digital business models. AI is seen less as a substitute for human labour and more as a lever for increasing value creation and stabilizing industrial competitiveness. It is thus becoming central to China's economic upgrading and long-term international location strategy. Whereas growth has been the primary focus in China to date, the emphasis today is primarily on security — especially for intellectual property and data, in a rapidly changing global environment.
With the transition to productive use in practice, the character of Chinese AI is changing fundamentally. At the model level, proprietary, locally operated and domain-specific models are gaining in importance over open cloud LLMs such as DeepSeek or Gwen – driven by data protection requirements and the demand for technological competitiveness. At the system level, these models are increasingly being embedded in agent-based architectures that replace isolated applications, autonomously coordinate complex processes and integrate deeply into existing IT and process landscapes. Chinese AI – following solar panels, electric cars and robots – is developing into an export factor where market success is determined not by model size, but by system design, controllability and regulatory connectivity. This means that data security, IP protection and compliance are becoming increasingly important.
Four Strong Arguments for CHINABRAND
Competence, Efficiency and Trust
No other consulting firm in Germany has a comparable wealth of experience and success with projects to protect intellectual property, know-how and data in China. That is why CHINABRAND quickly finds the right starting point for challenges in various industries. We are always informed about the very latest laws, regulations and standards, implement measures at a reasonable cost and manage projects responsibly and reliably. Therefore many clients have appreciated and trusted us for years.
Experts on Site – Under German-speaking Leadership
CHINABRAND has excellent networks in China and Asia and works together with experienced IP and IT specialists on site. Our project managers plan and coordinate all measures from Germany, maintain an overview and control results and costs. Competent contact persons in Germany are always available to our clients.
Your One-Stop-Shop for Complex Matters
Challenges in protecting IP and data are complex and require not only detailed specialist knowledge but also an eye for the big picture. That's why experts from different disciplines, such as lawyers and computer scientists, work closely together in our teams. As a one-stop store, we offer our clients many services from a single source. This saves them the time-consuming and difficult coordination of experts in Germany and abroad.
Protection against New Risks – With Up-to-date Knowledge
China creates growing challenges to foreign companies with new laws and digital innovations. With up-to-date knowledge and state-of-the-art technologies, CHINABRAND analyzes how European companies can seize new opportunities and protect their interests now and in the future. To this end, we are constantly expanding our know-how.
Multidisciplinary Teams
Challenges in the field of intellectual property, cybersecurity and data protection have many facets and call for a holistic approach, which is why the legal assistance of trademark and patent attorneys or IT specialists needs strong supplements. Companies wishing to protect intellectual property, know-how and data effectively and in the long term need a network of specialists from different disciplines.
CHINABRAND utilizes multidisciplinary teams of internal and external experts:
- Investigators, specialized in the field of intellectual property, elaborate the background of a case and provide evidence material.
- Trademark and patent attorneys with various industry specializations provide support in the analysis and enforcement of intellectual property rights in China and Asia.
- In the field of cyber security and data protection, IT specialists use state-of-the-art software to investigate data theft and secure the evidence.
- Communications experts ensure that successful measures are publicized in the national media.
- For projects in the ASEAN countries and in India, our long-standing network of experts provides us with competent and reliable specialists in the fields of law, technology and communications.
CHINABRAND Pulls the Strings – And is Your Point of Contact
CHINABRAND project managers develop strategies, design measures and coordinate their implementation. They constantly control processes, monitor costs and report results. In this way, CHINABRAND saves its clients the costly, time-consuming and often laborious coordination across technical, linguistic and cultural boundaries.
We Work Across the Globe
Intellectual property, know-how and data no longer know any national borders. If you want to protect these assets, you have to look beyond national markets and act globally. International business processes are standard today, and the strategies and projects to protect them are correspondingly demanding.
The new generation of brand and product pirates now operates worldwide. Their strategies are complex, and their structures are usually internationally intertwined. Chinese digital platforms play a major role in global counterfeiting.
With the new laws and regulations on cyber security and data protection, data traffic to, from and within China is becoming more difficult. Legal restrictions related to data are also increasing in other Asian countries, especially in the area of innovative technologies. Secure international IT solutions are now in demand.
CHINABRAND cooperates with competent experts in the fields of intellectual property, cyber security and data protection in many Asian countries. They maintain personal relationships with many local authorities. In Germany we ensure the optimal management for each project – in German, English or Chinese.
