Professor Way Kuo, President of City University of Hong Kong, was invited by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China to attend the inaugural China Quality Conference held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 15 September and deliver a keynote address.

The China Quality conference, a key national event, was attended by Premier Li Keqiang who delivered a 30-minute speech on raising quality standards in China. Prior to attending the conference Premier Li met with a number of international experts including Professor Kuo, and took photos together.

 

Other keynote speakers at the conference included Professor Zhou Ji, President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Dr Zhi Shuping, Minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China; and Mr Carlos Gutiérrez, former US Secretary of Commerce. Also in attendance were around 700 senior representatives of quality organisations and corporations from all over the world, and leaders of quality ministries from all provinces and cities, as well as leaders of corporations in China.

 

Professor Kuo is a member of the International Academy for Quality and US National Academy of Engineering, as well as a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Russian Academy of Engineering. In his speech, “Quality and Innovation”, he said that quality was the foundation of innovation. Mentioning energy and food safety as examples, Professor Kuo pointed out that only by injecting innovation into reliable and safe products will China be able to sustain development in a globally-competitive environment.

 

A leading expert in reliability, Professor Kuo said the quality of products and services was an aggregate indicator that not only reflected an enterprise’s technological and reputation, but also a country’s research capabilities and whether sound management systems were in place. He cited the US, Germany, Japan and recently-rising South Korea as examples to illustrate how we must pay attention to quality management and reliability together with innovation in order to successfully establish a brand.

 

He also mentioned that the concept of quality management in recent years has gradually extended from manufacturing and services sectors to government, public utilities, hospitals and higher education. Quality is a global, continuous topic for discussion, Professor Kuo said.