As high-level representatives Sun Chunlan (member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council), Wan Gang (vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) and Li Jiheng (secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee) attended the forum and delivered keynote speeches.

Mr. Wolfgang Frey, President of Frey Construction Group, was invited to attend the forum and to contribute and share ideas in the dialogue forum on how passive ultra-low-energy buildings will improve human ecology.

Being approved by the Chinese government and since its first meeting in 2007, the Kubuqi Forum has become an important platform for countries: by now, it is the only large-scale international forum to promote and exchange experiences in desertification prevention and control in achieving the UN's 2030 sustainable development goals. 

2019’s forum was jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, the State Forestry Administration, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People's Government, the United Nations Environment Agency and other units. Ordos Municipal Government and Yili Public Welfare Foundation jointly organized the “Green Belt and Road” program. Applying the theme of 'Building Ecological Civilization' during the forum with high-level plenary meetings, dialogue panels and parallel matchmaking meetings, the aim was to discuss issues of desertification prevention and cooperation, poverty alleviation, desert ecological science and technology innovation, green financial innovation and development, and promotion of biodiversity conservation, which all are of high concern to the international community along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

With his combined more than 20 years of energy-efficient building work experience, Mr. Wolfgang Frey contributed with special insights in his presentation on the ongoing global climate change situation: starting from 'continuous insulation, passive exterior window systems, ventilation systems with heat recovery, continuous air tightness, no thermal bridge design' for passive buildings he introduced with in-depth and detailed explanations his ideas in regards to his “Five Finger Principles” and 'near zero energy building technology standards' – all addressing to the impact of the development in the energy-saving construction industry.

One particular highlight in the many projects Frey Group has invested in during recent years, the Kubuqi Desert Experience Hall, was introduced to the visitors, too – it is one of the most recent projects of Frey Group which is jointly invested with Yili Group and showcases the high standards of passive buildings: it absorbs solar energy to generate energy, and also implements natural ventilation and no heat bridge balcony structures.

Mr. Frey’s visit to Ordos was completed by a quick field trip to Kubuqi Desert. There, he highly praised the great achievements that Yili Group has made for desert governance and biodiversity conservation for decades, pointing out that 'Today, the Chinese experience brought by Kubuqi Desert Management for global desertification control has been widely recognized and followed by more and more people.”, and that “The passive construction in Germany has shown great potential and thus has begun to be valued by countries around the world, including China.” Wrapping up the successful outcome of the Kubuqi Desert Forum he encouraged everybody in his usual, positive way that “We have every reason to believe that with the continuous development of passive buildings in the global low-energy construction industry, the planet we rely on for survival will be even better.'