A news conference for the 47th World Congress of Vine and Wine & OIV General Assembly is held in Beijing on Thursday.Photo by Hu Dongmei

A news conference for the 47th World Congress of Vine and Wine & OIV General Assembly was held in Beijing on Thursday. John Barker, director general of the OIV, announced that the congress will take place in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, from Oct 12 to 16 this year.

The congress will be held in Asia for the first time. Industry experts from all over the world will gather to present the latest research in viticulture, oenology, economy and law, as well as safety and health. With 423 scientific papers from 33 countries selected for the event, the congress is expected to attract over 800 delegates.

Under the theme, "Shaping new paradigms for the global Vine and Wine sector", the congress will focus on industrial transformation, innovation and sustainability.

John Barker, director general of the OIV, at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday. Photo by Hu Dongmei

Barker said the general assembly will be held at the end of the congress. High government representatives from OIV member countries will gather to make their final decisions on important scientific, technical and management questions including dealcoholization of wine, new technologies for wine stabilization, grape varieties bred for resistance to certain diseases, conservation of intra-varietal variability in grapevines, guidelines for organic table grape production, and conservation of nature and biodiversity in the vitivinicultural sector.