The seventh meeting of the Bamboo and Rattan International Standardization Technical Steering Committee was held in Beijing on March 24, 2026. The meeting was chaired by Professor Lyu Jianxiong, Chairperson of the Technical Committee on Bamboo and Rattan of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO/TC 296).
The meeting was attended by over 20 officials, experts and entrepreneurs, including Jiang Zehui, Chair of the Bamboo and Rattan International Standardization Technical Steering Committee; Fu Wenbiao, First-level Inspector of the Department of Standardization Innovation of the State Administration for Market Regulation; Yin Gangqiang, Director General of the Department of Science and Technology of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA); Hu Yuanhui, Executive Deputy Director General of the International Cooperation and Exchange Center of NFGA; Qin Daochun, Director General of the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan (ICBR); as well as representatives from the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR), China National Bamboo Research Center of NFGA, China Bamboo Industry Association, and Anhui Agricultural University.
At the meeting, DG Qin Daochun announced the list of members of the third session of the Bamboo and Rattan International Standardization Technical Steering Committee. Newly elected Committee Chair Professor Jiang Zehui presented appointment letters to the new members. Fang Changhua, Committee Manager of ISO/TC 296, and Ma Jianfeng, Liaison Officer of ISO/TC 296’s national counterpart technical body, delivered reports on recent work progress and future plans of the secretariat and the counterpart body, respectively, followed by a thorough discussion on their work by participating officials, experts and entrepreneurs.
DG Yin Gangqiang noted that the current year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. He called on the secretariat to systematically plan the next five years of development and actively integrate its efforts into NFGA’s technological innovation initiative. In terms of standard development, he emphasized the need to combine top-down and bottom-up approaches, strengthen linkages with the "Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic" product catalog, and serve national strategies and industrial development needs. He also urged expanding the influence of the standards, strengthening their promotion and implementation, and organizing diverse standardization activities.
Inspector Fu Wenbiao put forward three suggestions: first, accelerate the building of an open and inclusive cooperation framework for international standard development; second, promote deep integration of international standards with industrial development; and third, continuously improve the quality of international standardization work.
In her concluding remarks, Committee Chair Jiang Zehui stressed that the secretariat should actively respond to the "Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic" initiative by facilitating the proposal and development of more relevant international standards. She called for enhanced communication and cooperation with INBAR and other international organizations, learning from the practices of INBAR member countries to continuously raise the level of standard development. At the same time, she urged strengthening the international influence of the technical steering committee, fully leveraging the role of its experts, soliciting broad input on new standard proposals and draft development at key stages, to improve both the quality and international recognition of the standards.
