China stakes its claim in cultivated meat with patent powerhouse push

China is quietly but steadily securing its position as a global leader in cultivated meat, with new data revealing a striking lead in patent activity and government-backed research. According to a new analysis by the Good Food Institute (GFI), Chinese entities now dominate global cultivated meat patent filings, underscoring the country’s long-term commitment to protein diversification and food security.

Eight of the top 20 global applicants for cultivated meat patents are based in China, compared to just three from the USA. Notably, many of China’s leading filers are public institutions such as Jiangnan University, Zhejiang University, the China Meat Research Center, and Ocean University of China. This contrasts with the USA, where most cultivated meat patents are held by private firms.

“China’s universities and public research bodies have now filed more cultivated meat patents than their counterparts in the USA and Europe combined,” said Ryan Huling, Senior Writer at GFI APAC. “This is a clear sign of strong government interest and a coordinated approach to building a national innovation ecosystem.”

Patent filings are measured both by total number of individual patents and by patent families – groups of related filings that represent unique innovations. Patent families are widely considered a more meaningful indicator of innovation, and here again China is leading. Joes Future Food (also known as Nanjing Zhouzi) holds 25 patent families, Jiangnan University 16, and Zhejiang University 21. These figures suggest diverse innovation across core areas such as cell line development, scaffolding technologies, and culture media optimization – all essential components for scaling up cultivated meat production.

In total, more cultivated meat patents have been filed in the Asia-Pacific region than in North America and Europe combined, with China at the center of this trend. According to GFI’s analysis, this regional growth reflects not just commercial ambition, but deliberate national strategy.

That strategy is becoming increasingly visible. Earlier this year, China’s government reaffirmed alternative proteins as a key priority in its national food security agenda. Now, at the municipal level, Beijing has launched a 2025–2027 action plan with the Pinggu District Government – the country’s first district-level policy dedicated to the alternative protein sector. The plan designates Pinggu as a future industrial cluster for alt proteins, including cultivated meat, aligning with broader national goals to modernize the country’s food system through green technologies.

“China is strategically positioning itself as a locus of technological innovation, government-funded R&D, and policy leadership that can supercharge Asia’s ascendent ‘future foods’ industry,” said Huling.

Alongside policy and patent leadership, China is also ramping up scientific collaboration across the Asia-Pacific region. At the recent AltProtein Asia scientific symposium held at the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein in Singapore, Chinese researchers shared findings and joined counterparts from South Korea, Japan, and Australia to address shared challenges in cultivated protein development. The event focused on overcoming obstacles around taste, scalability, and cost — persistent barriers to mainstream adoption.

Beyond regional engagement, China is also stepping onto the global stage. The country has joined Singapore, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia in forming a new United Nations working group focused on food safety standards for cultivated meat. Supported by GFI, the group is developing open-access scientific guidelines to streamline regulatory review of cell culture media – a key ingredient in cultivated meat production. The aim is to facilitate regulatory alignment and accelerate global market entry.

As the world’s largest consumer of meat, China’s decisions carry weight. Even modest shifts toward cultivated proteins could have global implications for sustainability and public health. For now, the country appears to be laying the groundwork deliberately, with its universities, policymakers, and scientists moving in step.

Whether China will translate its growing patent portfolio and public-sector innovation into commercial success remains to be seen. But its intention is clear: cultivated meat is not just a scientific curiosity – it’s becoming a strategic national priority.