中文title: “China Leather Science and Technology Conference Draws 300+ to Jinan” seo_description: “Over 300 scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs gathered in Jinan for the 16th National Leather Science and Technology Conference focused on green, digital leather.” seo_tags: [“CLIA”, “leather technology”, “Jinan”, “green tanning”, “digitalization”, “industry conference”] seo_slug: “china-leather-science-conference-jinan-2026” source_url: “https://leathernews.org/china-leather-science-and-technology-conference-brings-more-than-300-industry-professionals-together-in-jinan/”
China Leather Science and Technology Conference Draws 300+ to Jinan
More than 300 scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs converged on Jinan, China, from 25 to 26 July for the 16th National Leather Science and Technology Conference and the 27th Annual Meeting of the China Leather Science and Technology Commission of the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA). If the turnout and agenda are any guide, China’s leather research establishment is betting its future on one word: transformation.
Hosted by the Faculty of Light Industry of Qilu University of Technology and jointly organised by CLIA’s Leather Science and Technology Commission, its Leather Chemical Commission, and the Fine Chemical Committee of the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, the conference carried the theme “Digitalization, Quality, Green Development and Innovation: A Low-Carbon Path to the Future.” It is a theme that neatly captures where the global leather industry believes its survival lies.
The programme was dense. Four opening speeches, six keynote presentations, 32 oral presentations and 92 poster papers spanned the latest research and technological developments in leather science. Topics ranged widely: green tanning technologies, intelligent manufacturing, leather chemicals, collagen-based functional materials, analytical and testing methods, industry standards, pollution control and solid-waste utilisation.
Six experts delivered keynotes touching on the green and high-quality development of the tanning industry, its economic performance, advanced functional leather materials, and the functionalisation of hide and leather coatings. Other sessions examined the restoration and conservation of leather cultural relics, and the high-value, non-tanning utilisation of raw hides and skins through textile collagen fibres — a fascinating frontier where leather science meets heritage preservation and materials innovation.
The breadth of participating institutions underscored how deeply the Chinese leather research base runs. Presenters came from universities including Sichuan University, Xi’an Jiaotong University and Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, as well as companies such as Bader Leather Co. Ltd and Qihe Lihou Chemical Co. Ltd. The mix of academia and industry is exactly what a maturing sector needs to convert laboratory findings into commercial reality.
Several themes recurred with unusual consistency. Energy conservation and carbon reduction came up repeatedly, as did AI-enabled technologies, functional materials and new application opportunities for leather. Discussions explicitly bridged fundamental research and industrial application — from lab R&D through to commercialisation and full-scale production.
At the closing ceremony on 26 July, Chen Zhanguang said the conference had addressed the challenges and bottlenecks facing the industry, generating ideas “from bio-based materials and functional materials to energy conservation, carbon reduction and AI-enabled technologies.” He stressed the importance of stronger cooperation across the upstream and downstream parts of the leather value chain.
That call for integration is the conference’s real takeaway. China’s leather industry faces the same squeeze as the rest of the world: environmental regulation, cost pressure, and competition from synthetic alternatives. The response on display in Jinan was not defensive but constructive — a research agenda built around making leather cleaner, smarter and more functional.
For the global leather trade, China’s research momentum matters. As the world’s largest leather economy, the technologies matured in Jinan will ripple outward through supply chains, standards and export products. Whether it is collagen-based materials that add value to by-products, or AI-driven tanning that cuts waste, the innovations discussed here are the industry’s hedge against obsolescence.
The 16th conference made one thing clear: the future of leather will be written in laboratories as much as in tanneries. China, with 300+ specialists in the room, intends to hold the pen.
Source: Leather News (leathernews.org), reporting on the 16th National Leather Science and Technology Conference, Jinan, August 2026.
