As of 3 September 2012, automatic electronic exchange of priority documents between the EPO and the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of the People's Republic of China for first filings at SIPO and the EPO will be implemented.

To qualify for this service, which is free of charge and not subject to any formalities on the part of the applicant, the European patent application or the Chinese national patent or utility model application claiming priority from a first filing at the other office must have been filed on or after 3 September 2012.  However, this measure does not apply to national phase applications based on PCTs or applications of which the priority claim is PCT.