Wang Guangqian, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), led a team to Central China's Hunan province from Oct 12 to 16 for a democratic supervision inspection on promoting the high-quality development of bamboo as a substitute for plastic and helping reduce plastic pollution.

The team members visited Changsha, Yiyang, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture, and Zhangjiajie, where they toured universities, industrial parks, cultural exhibition venues and bamboo cultivation bases. They heard views and suggestions from local officials, researchers and business representatives, and learned about the development of Hunan's bamboo industry across the entire value chain, as well as its efforts in technological innovation and the commercialization of research findings.

During the visit, Wang conducted research and study at the institution where a CPPCC National Committee member works. Meanwhile, CPPCC National Committee member Min Qingwen carried out an activity under the "serving the people" initiative.

The team members said that Hunan has drawn on its strengths and made bamboo-for-plastic substitution an important means of fostering new sources of green and low-carbon growth and realizing the value of ecological products. The province has accumulated practical experience and made positive progress in developing its bamboo industry and reducing plastic pollution, they noted.

The team members called for implementing the tasks in the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) on accelerating the development of bamboo as a substitute for plastic. They said the CPPCC should fully leverage its functions and the professional expertise of its members to offer well-founded recommendations and practical policy proposals, particularly on strengthening top-level design and advancing the research and development of innovative technologies and products.

These efforts, the team members added, would help advance full-chain governance of plastic pollution, accelerate the development of bamboo as a substitute for plastic, and enable the CPPCC to contribute its insights and expertise to sustainable development and the building of a Beautiful China.