The 2026 World Dairy Industry Conference officially began 1 August in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Hosted by Yili Group, the conference centered around the theme of Technology-driven, Partnership Oriented, Co-building a Sustainable Global Dairy Ecosystem. The event gathered leaders from international industry associations, academicians and executives from across the global dairy value chain.

During the opening ceremony, the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) officially presented Hohhot with the World Dairy Capital plaque and a commemorative award.

In her address, Dr. Pavinee Chinachoti, executive president of IUFoST, emphasised that this title recognises the city’s persistent efforts in advancing the dairy industry. She added that this honour also aims to inspire enterprises such Yili Group to elevate the global health food sector and accelerate a future grounded in technological leadership and shared success.

At the event, Pan Gang, chairman and president of Yili Group, delivered a keynote speech titled Shared Value, Mutual Harmony, Building a New Global Dairy Ecosystem.

Addressing global challenges, ranging from rapid technological iteration and supply chain restructuring to climate change and evolving consumer demands, Gang outlined Yili’s strategic vision. Amid industry transformations, he delivered China’s answer to the global dairy industry by calling on all partners to join hands and forge a new path of shared value and mutual harmony.

He noted that true innovation is never an island but an entire continent, highlighting how Yili pools global dairy wisdom to weave a strong innovation network. Regarding digital transformation, he described digital intelligence not as a solo act, but as a whole-chain symphony. To this end, Yili is currently driving vertical and horizontal integration to build a full-chain digital-intelligent ecosystem. He concluded by inviting global partners to embark on a journey of shared value in the spirit of mutual harmony, contributing the strength of the dairy industry to strengthen the foundation of human health and advance global well-being.

Dairy data hub

The opening ceremony also marked the official launch of the China (Global) Dairy Data Intelligent Hub and the Global Dairy High-Quality Datasets Factory. Further, the China National Technology Innovation Center for Dairy (NTICD) unveiled its Top 10 Innovation Achievements of 2026. These cover areas including dairy cow breeding, feed reduction and substitution technologies, probiotic strains for human milk research, large-scale production of lactoferrin, intelligent end-to-end inspection systems and high-quality packaging recycling. These technologies demonstrate a firm commitment to driving the high-quality and sustainable development of the global dairy industry.