BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- China made progress in intellectual property last year, with growing comprehensive development and in particular, improved application of intellectual property, said a report by China's National Intellectual Property Administration Tuesday.

The report showed the country's IP comprehensive development index reached 257.4 in 2018, an increase of 17.9 percent from the previous year and ranking the eighth out of 40 major IP powers, up from 13th in 2017.

The index was evaluated by four factors: creation, application, protection and business environment.

According to the report, China's IP has witnessed growth in the creation sub-index. In 2018, the number of patent applications in China was 1.54 million, while the number of valid trademarks reached 18 million, an increase of 32.8 percent from last year.

The fastest growth was in the application index, which reached 234.8, up 28.5 percent. In 2018, the patent and trademark pledge financing reached 122.40 billion yuan (about 17.79 billion U.S. dollars), up 12.3 percent, indicating IP's greater contribution to China's economic and social development.

Companies and individuals in provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu benefited the most from approved IP application.

The report also pointed out existing problems in the country's IP development, including a lack of high-value patents, imbalanced regional development and a tough external business environment.