BEIJING — China assesses all applications for trademarks equally in a transparent process, a top Chinese regulator said today, after Beijing awarded U.S. President Donald Trump preliminary approval for a trove of trademarks in a move that has drawn scrutiny.

The process by which Trump and a related company were granted provisional approval for 38 trademarks “strictly conforms” to Chinese regulations, said Zhang Mao, chief of China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Critics fear foreign governments might gain leverage from Trump’s global portfolio of brands. Democrats in Congress were critical of Trump after The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the potentially valuable trademarks had been granted, raising questions of conflict of interest.

“All domestic and international applications are evaluated uniformly,” said Zhang, whose administration oversees the country’s trademark office. He was speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of China’s annual session of its ceremonial national parliament.

The recent provisional approval of Trump’s trademarks came at a pace that some experts view as unusually quick.

Zhang said the office receives more than 3 million applications every year, but they are moving at a scheduled pace.