Pan Gang (2nd from left), chairman of Yili Group meets with Lin Duo, secretary of Gansu Provincial Party Committee and other Gansu officials, on Jan 19. [Photo/Yili Group]

Chinese dairy giant Yili Group agreed to build an intelligent milk production base in Wuwei city, Northwest Gansu province, during a signing ceremony held on Jan 19.

Pan Gang, the group's chairman and Lin Duo, secretary of Gansu Provincial Party Committee exchanged ideas on the development of the dairy sector and intelligent manufacturing during the ceremony.

In 2017, Yili established a modern dairy production base in Lanzhou, the province's capital, with its products being sold to Gansu province, Qinghai, Ningxia Hui autonomous region and Tibet autonomous region.

Using emerging new technologies fuelled by the availability of big data, the group has helped Gansu upgrade its industries.

According to Lin, the province has prioritized the development of the dairy and agricultural sectors to help boost poverty alleviation efforts.

He added that local authorities will offer comprehensive support to Yili in the construction and operation of its new production base.

Gansu province, as a hub linking central and western areas of China, offers huge advantages for a dairy company, said Pan Gang.

And the preferential policies on offer are attractive for a dairy firm such as ours, he added.

Pan argued that the partnership between the two sides would help promote a “Silk Road” of the dairy industry, an idea first put forward by Executive President Zhang Jianqiu in 2015 to promote sustainable development in the global dairy industry.  

The rapid development of intelligent manufacturing has brought dramatic changes to the world and transformed the traditional dairy sector.

Over the past few years, Yili has moved to automatic production lines and these are expected to help Gansu when it comes to upgrading its other industrial sectors.

Representatives from Yili Group and the governments of Wuwei city and Liangzhou district in Gansu sign agreements on Jan 19. [Photo/Yili Group]