The 82nd IEC General Meeting was held on 22-26 October 2018 in Busan, South Korea. Dr. Shu Yinbiao, current Vice President of IEC and Chairman of State Grid, was elected the 36th IEC President for the tenure of 2020-2022. This marks the first time IEC will have a Chinese president in 112 years. Dr. Shu Yinbiao's election is a milestone of China's contributions to international standardization and represents another important achievement of State Grid in building a community with a shared future for mankind and promoting the development of the "Belt and Road" Initiative. Dr. Shu Yinbiao is expected to bring Chinese wisdom to the world and take greater international responsibilities.

The Statutory Session of  IEC Council meeting was held in the morning of 26 October, on which Dr. Shu Yinbiao was elected the 36th President of IEC. After the announcement of the result, Dr. Shu Yinbiao delivered a speech, said that he felt honored to be elected, and expressed his appreciation for the trust and support of IEC Council, the strong leadership of  IEC President James M. Shannon and the dedication and hard work of IEC General Secretary and CEO Frans Vreeswijk and other Council members.

Dr. Shu Yinbiao said, the first President of IEC Lord Kelvin said "If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it". The IEC International Standards and Conformity Assessment provide the baseline and guiding principles for global trade, eliminating technical barriers and accelerating technological advancement. IEC plays a fundamental role in promoting globalization and makes the world a community more closely-connected than ever before. Globalization not only promotes trade and economic prosperity, but also conduces to productivity improvement and technological innovation. Currently, we are still faced with many challenges such as energy shortage, environmental pollution and climate change with 1 billion of the world's population still without access to electricity. We have every reason to work harder for the wellbeing of all.

Dr. Shu Yinbiao stated, we are embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As was the case during the First Industrial Revolution, standardization is also of great significance to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and will play an even more critical role. We will not shrink from all these challenges, nor fail to seize the emerging opportunities. Instead, IEC will encourage bilateral and multilateral cooperation to promote globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Everyone in IEC is expected to make his or her own contributions to maintain the strong leadership of IEC in the field of standardization, make IEC more transparent and strengthen its role as a globally-recognized authoritative standardization organization. IEC will make joint efforts with all sides to address challenges, promote reforms and meet the growing demand for standardization worldwide. We are confident that IEC will become stronger and help the world to create a safer and more efficient future.

Founded in 1906 and now covering171 member countries, IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) is the world's leading organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Dubbed as the "United Nations for electrotechnology", IEC is one of the three global sister organizations (IEC, ISO and ITU) that develop related international standards for the world, and also the first and most influential international electrotechnical standardization organization, which plays a crucial role in global economic and trade cooperation. Currently, IEC has publicized 7,713 International Standards in electrotechnology, making significant contribution to the sustainable development of energy and power worldwide.

(Abstract from State Grid website)