Hainan to host global rubber conference in mid-December

The 15th Global Rubber Conference will be held in Haikou, capital city of south China's Hainan province, in mid-December, with more than 700 industry leaders and experts expected to gather from around the world, according to the organizing committee.

It said this will be the first time the grand international rubber meeting will be held in China. With a broad theme of "the Natural rubber industry 2.0 - Rules of the game for major innovation", the international conference will be a platform for high-end discussion on the development strategies and challenges covering the upstream, middle and downstream industrial chains of the world natural rubber industry.

China is the largest rubber consumer in the world, and Hainan is home to the country's largest natural rubber production base. The natural rubber planting area in Hainan has reached more than 8.1 million mu (54,000 hectares), and rubber output in 2018 hit 360,000 tons, accounting for 42 percent of China's total output, according to data from the Hainan provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs.

Officials with the organizing committee said they hope the international gathering will promote high-tech development in the rubber industry and enhance international collaboration to support quality and more balanced development of tropical agriculture in the world.