Aiming to invigorate the local bamboo industry, experts, entrepreneurs, and government representatives gathered for a conference in Anji, Huzhou, Zhejiang province on July 25.

The international conference featured the inauguration of a think tank of the China National Academy of Bamboo Industry, which was founded in Anji last October.

Centered on core technologies and equipment related to the bamboo industry, the think tank is meant to provide well-grounded and feasible suggestions to decision makers. Zhou Ligang, chairman of Hangzhou Bole Industrial Design Co Ltd, said he expected the think tank to play a key role in forming development strategies, promoting resource sharing, and holding academic activities.

After four decades of development, Anji is now home to over 1 million mu (67,333 hectares) of bamboo forest, generating more than 20 billion yuan (approximately $2.8 billion) in annual output, which accounts for about 10 percent of the country's total.

However, the county is also facing challenges such as falling bamboo price and incomplete supply chains. The think tank is in this context part of Anji's efforts to inject fresh momentum into the industry.