BEIJING - The number of patent applications filed to China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) in 2011 surged 33.63 percent from a year earlier to 1.63 million, according to data released by the office on Thursday.

The SIPO said that it granted 961,000 patents last year, up 17.91 percent from a year earlier.

Tian Lipu, commissioner of the office, said Thursday at a conference on intellectual property rights that China's patents saw rapid growth last year, adding the quality of the patents is also steadily improving.

This year, China will strive to nurture key enterprises with competitive advantages in developing intellectual property rights, said Tian.