The “15th Five-Year Plan” Forum on High-Quality Development of the Geosynthetics Industry was successfully held in Beijing.

Release date:

2026-09-27

On the afternoon of August 11, 2026, the “Fifteenth–Sixteenth Five-Year Plan Forum on High-Quality Development of the Geosynthetics Industry,” hosted by the Association’s Market Development Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Market Development Committee), was held in Beijing. The forum focused on key issues such as the development of the geosynthetics industry, innovations in centralized procurement by state-owned construction enterprises, and engineering applications. It brought together industry experts, supply-chain managers from major state-owned construction firms, and technical leaders to jointly discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the sector, share practical experiences, and explore pathways for industrial upgrading during the Fifteenth–Sixteenth Five-Year Plan period. More than 200 representatives from geosynthetic raw-material, equipment, and product manufacturers nationwide, as well as from universities, research institutes, design firms, construction companies, and testing organizations, attended the event. The session was co‑chaired by Shandong Xinjia, Deputy Secretary-General of the Association, Zhao Bo, Chairman of a geosynthetics company, and Professor Liu Weichao of Shijiazhuang Tiedao University.

In his address, Yang Baohé, Chairman of the Municipal Construction Commission, emphasized that this forum aims to establish a platform for exchange, sharing, and collaboration, thereby fostering sustained, high-quality, coordinated development across the industry. He called on all stakeholders in the sector to join forces, break free from the trap of cutthroat price competition, intensify efforts in technological innovation, and jointly chart new pathways for the industry’s high‑quality growth.

**Speech by Yang Baohé, Vice Chairman of the Association and Director of the Municipal Construction Commission**

Yang Guangqing, Chairman of the Association, delivered a special report on the current state and future prospects of the geosynthetics industry. The report systematically reviewed the scale of the domestic and international geosynthetics sector over the past five years, as well as progress in innovation and standard-setting. It identified key challenges, including insufficient innovation, a shortage of high-end products, price‑driven competition, and limited internationalization. At the same time, it proposed a comprehensive development roadmap centered on supply‑side optimization, technological breakthroughs, green transformation, and expansion into international markets, providing a solid basis for assessing industry trends and formulating corporate development strategies.

Zhan Xiaosuo, Deputy General Manager and Chief Economist of China Railway Materials Group Co., Ltd., delivered a report titled “Innovating Centralized Procurement Models, Fostering Industrial Collaboration, and Jointly Building a New Ecosystem for High-Quality Development of the Geotechnical Materials Supply Chain.” The report squarely addressed industry challenges such as cutthroat price competition stemming from traditional fragmented procurement, uneven supplier qualifications, and weak quality‑control mechanisms. It provided a detailed overview of innovative management practices—including raw‑material traceability and准入, comprehensive bid evaluation, on-site verification, and regular online centralized procurement—while establishing a new supply‑chain framework characterized by “direct procurement and direct supply, end-to-end oversight, and strategic symbiosis.” In addition, the report called on the entire industry to abandon low‑price involution, pursue collaborative innovation, and jointly develop unified industry standards, offering an exemplary model for synergistic development among state‑owned construction enterprises and their upstream and downstream partners.

Ding Xinjun, Deputy Chief Engineer of China Railway Materials International Tendering Co., Ltd., shared his experience in “Procurement Management of Self‑Purchased Materials for Railway Construction,” systematically clarifying the division of responsibilities between project owners and construction contractors. He established a closed-loop management framework covering the entire process—from procurement planning and bulk tendering to contract filing and on‑site acceptance—and developed a three‑dimensional quality control system based on “source‑level oversight, in‑process monitoring, and end‑point verification.” The report also proposed specialized control measures for critical railway materials that directly affect operational safety, providing a comprehensive practical guide for standardizing the procurement of geotechnical materials in railway projects and for managing associated risks.

**Ding Xinjun, Deputy Chief Engineer of China Railway Materials International Bidding Co., Ltd., delivered a report.**

Wang Qiang, Senior Director of the Supply Chain Management Division at China Communications Construction Company Ltd., delivered a keynote presentation titled “Central Enterprise Centralized Procurement Empowering High-Quality Development in the Geosynthetics Industry.” Drawing on CCCC’s experience in engineering procurement, the report elucidated the policy rationale and industry drivers behind central enterprises’ adoption of centralized purchasing for geosynthetic materials, highlighted the tangible outcomes of standardized, digitalized, and full‑cycle supplier management in such procurement systems, and proposed leveraging centralized procurement by state-owned enterprises to catalyze the sector’s green transformation, standardize market order, and foster deep strategic cooperation between supply and demand. The presentation thus charted a clear path for geosynthetic material companies seeking to integrate into the procurement ecosystem.

**Wang Qiang, Senior Manager of the Supply Chain Management Division at China Communications Construction Company Limited, delivered a report.**

Cheng Yifeng, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Southwest Branch of China Water Conservancy and Hydropower Fourth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., delivered a presentation titled “Practical Applications of Geosynthetic Materials in Engineering,” drawing on real-world project experience. He discussed the application of various geosynthetic products—such as geomembranes, geogrids, geotextiles, and geotextile‑reinforced formwork bags—in a wide range of water‑conservation projects. His talk covered material selection, construction techniques, and key quality‑control measures throughout the entire process for seepage control and soft‑ground reinforcement, distilling a wealth of frontline technical expertise.

Dai Qiang, Manager of the Contract Performance Division within the Project Supervision Department of China Water Conservancy and Hydropower Fifth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., delivered a presentation titled “Geosynthetic Liner Seepage Control in Pumped‑Storage Projects: An Analysis of Engineering Practices and Lessons Learned.” The report compared two major categories of projects: domestically, the Liyang pumped‑storage project’s HDPE geosynthetic liner–based seepage control system (combining an impermeable membrane at the reservoir bottom with concrete panels around the reservoir perimeter); and internationally, Middle Eastern pumped‑storage projects employing PVC liners for full‑basin seepage control. The presentation deconstructed the design philosophies, construction challenges, and leakage‑control strategies of these two approaches, and proposed proven technical solutions tailored to areas with significant settlement and extreme overseas operating conditions. These insights provide highly valuable practical case studies for seepage‑control engineering in pumped‑storage facilities, both at home and abroad.

**Dai Qiang, Manager of the Performance Compliance Division, Project Supervision Department, China Water Conservancy and Hydropower Fifth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., delivered a report.**

Six experts examined the development opportunities and challenges facing the geosynthetic materials industry from multiple, comprehensive perspectives—covering macro‑level industry trends, innovative centralized procurement practices among state‑owned construction enterprises, railway material management, hydraulic engineering applications, and both domestic and international technologies for seepage control in pumped‑storage projects—and shared cutting‑edge management and engineering expertise. The forum further fostered industry-wide consensus, bolstering confidence and momentum across the sector to seize the strategic opportunities of the 15th Five‑Year Plan, leverage innovation to address developmental challenges, and advance the geosynthetic materials industry toward higher‑end, greener, and higher‑quality growth.
　　During the roundtable discussion, the keynote speakers engaged in in-depth exchanges with the attendees on topics including industry information sharing, the development of self-regulatory frameworks, quality control among traders, the empowerment of centralized procurement by central state-owned enterprises, and the practical applications of geomembranes in water conservancy, hydropower, and pumped-storage projects, ultimately reaching broad consensus.

Building on the consensus reached at this forum, the association will continue to deepen its services in areas such as industry standard-setting, the identification and promotion of high‑quality enterprises, and the sharing of technical information. It will further strengthen collaborative partnerships with the procurement platforms of central state‑owned construction enterprises, working together to propel the geosynthetics industry into a phase of higher‑quality development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Source: China Geosynthetics Engineering Association Original article link: http://www.chinatag.org.cn/tghc_html/xwzx/xhyw/2026/0819/3278.html

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