BEIJING, April 7 -- China has confidence and capability to deal with any challenges in the field of intellectual property rights (IPRs), an official with the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) said Saturday.

"China's achievements in innovation were made not through stealing or plundering, but based on the down-to-earth efforts of the Chinese people," said Zhang Zhicheng, head of the department of IPR protection and coordination affairs under SIPO.

The claims of the U.S. Section 301 investigation on China's technology transfers and innovations are just groundless, he said.

The enhancement of China's manufacturing capability and international competitiveness is attributed to the country's huge investment in innovation and the competitive advantages of the manufacturing sector including a sound industrial system and a large number of skilled workers and innovative enterprises, Zhang said.

China has gained recognition from both home and abroad for its improvement in IPR protection, and registered more international applications as a result, he said.

The intellectual property system is to protect innovation outcomes, ensure fair competition and promote technology transfers so that the innovation achievements could be shared by humanity, Zhang said.

It is unreasonable to merely stress one's own interests while ignoring the principles of multiple agreements for cooperation, he said.