From October 30 to November 1, 2026, the 2026 Annual Conference of the Logistics and Supply Chain Innovation Alliance of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was successfully held at the Baiyunshan Campus of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS). On the afternoon of October 31, the Alliance held its Third Members’ Congress and Leadership Transition Conference concurrently at GDUFS’s MBA Education Center. The Alliance organized the Annual Conference with the host of the School of Business of GDUFS. During the conference, the Alliance successfully completed the transition of its third-term leadership and officially announced that, following its role as the founding chair unit, the School of Business (MSB) of Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) will again serve as the Alliance’s President Unit of the Board of Directors. Professor Tang Huajun, Assistant Dean of MSB, has been appointed President of the Alliance; while Associate Professor Zhao Honghao, Assistant Dean of MSB, has been appointed Secretary-General.
Amid the wave of global economic digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are reshaping industries at an unprecedented pace, with particularly profound changes taking place in supply chain and logistics management. Centered on the theme “AI + Empowering Innovation in Supply Chain and Logistics Management”, the Annual Conference featured keynote reports, thematic sub-forums, and paper sessions, creating a high-level, high-impact, high-quality exchange platform focused on logistics and supply chain. More than 200 experts, scholars, and industry representatives from over 60 universities, research institutions, and enterprises, including Tsinghua University, The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Tongji University, South China University of Technology, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao Polytechnic University, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Beijing Institute of Technology (Zhuhai), Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, Shenzhen University, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou University, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen Research Institute of Big Data, Midea Group Meiyun Zhishu Technology, as well as Newly IoT, gathered to discuss the latest research achievements, innovative applications, and future development trends of AI technologies in supply chain and logistics management, offering new perspectives and solutions for the intelligent transformation of global supply chains.
Group photo at the opening ceremony
Professor Han Xiaohua, Dean of the School of Business of GDUFS, hosted the opening ceremony. Addresses were delivered successively by Mr. Yang Li, Standing Committee Member of the CPC Committee and Vice President of GDUFS; Professor Xie Ruhe of Guangzhou University, Director of the Guangdong Provincial Teaching Steering Committee for Logistics Management and Engineering Programs in Undergraduate Universities; and Chair Professor George Q. Huang, President of the Alliance. Following the opening ceremony, Professor George Q. Huang presented advisory appointment certificates to Professor Liang Zhe of Tongji University, Professor Xiao Yongbo of Tsinghua University, and Professor Niu Baozhuang of South China University of Technology. A flag-handover ceremony was then held, in which President George Q. Huang passed the Alliance’s flag to Professor Tang Huajun, representative of MUST MSB and 2027 host institution, symbolizing the relay and deepening development of logistics and supply chain innovation exchange across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Flag-handover ceremony to the host institution of the 2027 Annual Conference
During the keynote report session, Professor Liang Zhe of Tongji University, recipient of the first National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars continuation project; Professor Xiao Yongbo of Tsinghua University, National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars; Professor Niu Baozhuang, Second-Level Professor at South China University of Technology and National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars awardee; Mr. Wei Xiaogang, Vice President of Midea Group Meiyun Zhishu Technology; and Mr. Li Gang, Founder and CEO of Newly IoT Technology, delivered insightful reports on topics including the application of machine learning in aviation operations management, strategic reserves and capacity planning for supply chain resilience, county-level supply chain diagnosis based on intelligent knowledge graphs, enterprise digital-intelligent transformation practices, and digital applications of cross-border air-land intermodal transport. The academic exchange segment comprised three parallel sub-forums and eight parallel paper sessions, conducting in-depth discussions on topics, including “How AI Empowers Business Education”, “Exploration of Low-Altitude Logistics Talent Cultivation”, and “Smart Chain Sets Sail – New Frontiers of Logistics and Supply Chains in the AI Era”. At the awards dinner, Professor Tang Huajun, President of the Alliance, delivered a speech. On the morning of November 1, participants also visited Guangzhou Newly IoT Technology Co., Ltd., and Guangzhou Yiyun Group to observe cross-border supply chain practices in the airport economy and promote deep industry-academia-research engagement.
Group photo of Alliance leaders and keynote speakers
Visit to Newly IoT and Guangzhou Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone
Visit to Yiyun Group’s Cross-Border Global Beauty Selection Center
On the afternoon of October 31, the Alliance’s Third Members’ Congress and Leadership Transition Conference reviewed and approved the proposed rosters for the third-term Members’ Congress, Board of Directors, and Board of Supervisors, as well as the proposed roster for the third-term Professional Committees. It heard work reports from the newly elected Presidents of Congress, Board of Directors and Supervisors, and the directors of the professional committees; approved the authorization for the new-term Alliance account management and new membership applications; finalized the hosting arrangements for the 2027 Annual Conference; and held ceremonies for presenting appointment certificates and letters of appreciation to session chairs. Experts, scholars, institutional member representatives, and individual members attended the Members’ Congress. Following the election, Professor Qu Ting, Executive Director of the Zhuhai Campus of Jinan University, was elected President of the Congress; Professor Tang Huajun, Assistant Dean of MUST MSB, was elected President of the Board of Directors; and Professor Yang Dong, Director of the Research Center for Shipping at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, was elected President of the Board of Supervisors. The newly elected Presidents delivered speeches and shared their work visions on the Alliance’s strategic development direction, the operational approach and support mechanisms, the supervision system building, and expressed their confidence and determination to unite and lead all members, pool the industry-academia-research strengths of the Greater Bay Area, and continuously advance the Alliance’s high-quality development. Regarding the Alliance’s work plan for the coming year, the directors of the three professional committees also delivered thematic speeches, clarifying key tasks and action roadmaps in areas such as academic research, external exchange, and membership development.
Professor Qu Ting, the newly elected President of the Congress, received the appointment certificate
Professor Tang Huajun, the newly elected President of the Board of Directors, received the appointment certificate
Professor Yang Dong, the newly elected President of the Board of Supervisors, received the appointment certificate
Notably, MUST MSB has again assumed the President Unit of the Board of Directors, following its service as the founding chair unit. Professor Tang Huajun, Assistant Dean of MSB, serves as President of the Board of Directors, and Associate Professor Zhao Honghao, Assistant Dean of MSB, serves as Secretary-General, the appointments reflect the Alliance’s high recognition of MSB’s strengths in discipline development, industry-academia-research collaboration, and internationalized education within the logistics and supply chain field.
Professor Tang Huajun, President of the Board of Directors, stated that he will lead the new Board of Directors, leverage the disciplinary and platform strengths of MUST MSB, unite all member institutions, and continuously advance the integration of industry, academia, research, and application, the cultivation of interdisciplinary talent, and the transformation of technological achievements, so as to build the Alliance into a vital think tank and collaboration platform for smart logistics and supply chain innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The 2027 Annual Conference will be hosted by MUST MSB, which will further extend the Alliance’s influence from the Greater Bay Area to broader regional and international arenas.
The successful convening of this Leadership Transition Conference marks the Alliance’s entry into its third stage of development. At the close of the conference, President George Q. Huang, Chair Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, delivered a concluding address, fully affirming that the transition conference had smoothly completed all agenda items, and encouraged the new leadership to build on past achievements while pioneering with integrity and innovation, continuously leveraging the Alliance’s role as a think tank and platform to support the high-quality development of the logistics and supply chain industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the national regional coordinated development strategy. The successful holding of the 2026 Annual Conference, together with the smooth transition of the third-term leadership structure, further promoted the coordinated development of theoretical innovation and practical application in supply chain and logistics management, injected new momentum into deepening regional industry-academia-research collaborative innovation, and served national strategies.
(Contributed and reviewed by Professor Tang Huajun, format reviewed by Helen Kam)
