In recent years, the PRC’s intellectual property (IP) regime has undergone many changes. Moreover, China’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP) in 2021 has provoked debates and concerns over the compatibility of the CPTPP’s trade standards and the PRC’s domestic legal system, especially in terms of IP. Against this
background, this article analyses and offers insights into recent developments in China’s IP law regime as they relate to relevant provisions of the CPTPP, specifically with respect to IP and the associated civil, administrative, and judicial procedures and remedies available in China. Beyond the comparison of these two sets of regulations’ legal text,
this article aims to provide insights regarding the judicial enforcement of China’s national IP laws, with a focus on local judicial implementation of
national laws, via a case study of the most recent court ruling on a pharmaceutical patent linkage mechanism. While China’s current IP regime is generally in line with CPTPP standards, there remain gaps between Chinese law and certain provisions of the CPTPP. This study proposes that it is important to stress that the practical implementation of international and domestic laws takes priority over the strict compatibility of legal texts. Local  judicial interpretations suggest a structural dynamic of institutional location that affects the uniform implementation of China’s IP laws. Therefore, the implementation of national IP laws remains a key issue in China’s IP law and practice.