BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangdong Province topped the country in the comprehensive strength of its patents last year, according to a new report released by the National Intellectual Property Administration.

Beijing and Jiangsu Province were ranked second and third. Zhejiang, Shanghai and Chongqing were also among the top 10 regions.

The report evaluated the comprehensive strength of patents from five aspects, which were patent creation, application, protection, management and service.

Beijing topped the rank in the quality of patents, followed by Guangdong and Shanghai.

Over the past year, China has improved its patent quantity and quality, strengthened protection, enhanced application capacity and increased internationalization level, the report said.

It is the eighth time that China released a report about the patent strength of 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.