BRUSSELS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's technology giant Huawei ranks the first in patent applications in 2017 on the European Patent Office (EPO)'s patent-filing list, the office said in its latest reporting.

With 2,398 patent applications in 2017, Huawei became the first Chinese firm that tops the EPO ranking in the office's history, followed by Siemens with 2,220 and LG with 2,056, the office said Wednesday.

"We highly value our intellectual property and feel that patents registration is one important measurement of our international competitiveness," Huawei Senior Vice President Song Liuping told China Daily earlier this week.

Huawei also contributed greatly to the 16.6-percent growth in patent application in Europe which Chinese companies saw last year. The increase made China rank the fifth among applicant nations.

The EPO is a Munich-based institution which is not an EU entity but covers 38 countries. It aims to provide innovation support and has focused on improving its efficiency in order to process patent demands for several years.

Huawei is a leading global information and communication technology (ICT) corporation located in Shenzhen, China, which provides innovated ICT solutions for businesses and government institutions as well as smartphones.