China had more patent applications than any other country in 2014 for the fourth year running, official data showed on February 23.

The number of invention patent applications filed to the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) in 2014 stood at 928,000, up 12.5 percent from 2013, the SIPO.

The office authorized a total of 233,000 patents in the year, 163,000 of which were from Chinese applicants.

By the end of 2014, China had 663,000 patents, and the number of patents per 10,000 Chinese people had reached 4.9, according to the SIPO.

China has seen rising numbers of patent applications as part of a drive to upgrade the economy. However, the country's invention patents still lack a competitive edge, experts said.

One of the government's priorities has been to boost innovation by improving protection of intellectual property rights.

Tax-Free Vehicles

China has exempted roughly 42,800 buyers of new-energy vehicles from a 10-percent purchase tax since a new policy became effective last September, an official statement said.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in the statement on its website that it has designated three types of 377 new-energy vehicle models from 57 manufacturers that might benefit from the tax exemption.

From September 2014 to January 2015, about 42,800 owners enjoyed the exemption, including owners of 36,600 passenger vehicles and 6,207 commercial vehicles.

The Chinese Government rolled out the policy in a bid to save energy and reduce pollution.

From September 1, 2014, to the end of 2017, buyers of qualified purely electric cars, plug-in hybrid electric cars and fuel cell cars will not have to pay the vehicle purchase tax.

Antarctic Achievements

February 20 marks the 30th anniversary since China set its step at the South Pole.

On February 20, 1985, China's first Antarctic station, the Great Wall station, was opened on King George Island, on the north of the continent.

Compared with the Westerners who first landed in Antarctica in 1820, the Chinese were newcomers, arriving 75 years later than Japan, the first Asian country to record an expedition to the "end of the world" in 1910.

While now, China's 31st Antarctic expedition, consisting of 281 team members, is perhaps one of the largest operations currently on the continent. As a gift for the 30th anniversary, a rare greenhouse was built by the team, where 20 varieties of vegetable were planted.

The team is expected to make unprecedented achievements, including building a base for the Beidou navigation satellite system, selecting a site for an airstrip to launch and land fixed-wing aircraft on the ice sheet, installing a new astronomical telescope and surveying more areas to map them.