Dr. Shu Yinbiao Delivered Inaugural Address as IEC President

On October 25th, the 83rd IEC Conference closed in Shanghai. During the conference, Dr. Shu Yinbiao, IEC president-elect, Chairman of the China Electrical Engineering Society, Chairman of China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd., and current IEC Chairman James Shannon completed the transfer of IEC Presidency, and Dr. Shu Yinbiao delivered an inaugural speech thereafter. In his speech, Dr. Shu Yinbiao paid tribute to President Shannon for his outstanding leadership and contribution to IEC, and thanked the current IEC Secretary General and the Central Office for their fruitful work. He pointed out that this conference attracted more than 3,800 representatives from 173 countries around the world to gather together in Shanghai, which made it the most attended conference in the history of IEC, and the conference itself was an important event for both IEC and China. The congratulatory letter from China President Xi Jinping fully reflected the great importance attached to the IEC and the firm support for improving the international standard system and governance structure. President Xi Jinping emphasized that “top standards will drive high-tech innovation, promote high-level openness, and lead high-quality development”. President Xi pointed out that international standards would serve as a good direction to promote scientific and technological progress, better play the role of standards in international trade and global governance, and achieve the goal of green and low-carbon development.

Dr. Shu Yinbiao believes that with the acceleration of globalization, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial reform are emerging, and standards are playing an increasingly important role in supporting economic and social development. IEC must grasp this trend, further improve the standards system and governance structure, and leverage standards to help innovation and development. He emphasized that at present, IEC is actively promoting internal reforms, and its biggest challenge is to keep IEC’s international standards in the field of electrical, electronics and related technologies continue to lead the world. This requires a rapid response to market demands at all times in a rapidly changing world. Next, IEC will fully consider the interests of all parties, and establish a series of sustainable work processes and clear organizational structures in terms of role and responsibility fulfillment, which will meet the demands for IEC as a non-profit, membership-based institution, and improve inter-organizational trust, enhancing work enthusiasm and ensuring the vitality of IEC. Dr. Shu Yinbiao views that IEC belongs to every member and looks forward to working with everyone to make new contributions to the bright future of human society.

During the meeting, Dr. Shu Yinbiao participated in important activities such as IEC executive committee meeting, IEC YP seminar, signing ceremony of licenses on IEC standard duplication and sales. He also met with the treasurer of IEC, the chairman of national committees such as Singapore and Germany, and the heads of several international standardization organizations.