Song Zhiping, Chairman of China National Building Materials (CNBM), has been appointed the new president of the London-based World Cement Association (WCA), the first time a representative from a Chinese organization has taken the helm of an international cement association.

Song gave his first keynote address as president at the WCA World Cement Conference in London Tuesday. More than 100 senior delegates from 29 countries attended the first edition of this global event.

WCA Chairman Emir Adiguzel commented: "We are delighted Mr. Song has accepted the Presidency of the WCA. CNBM is the world's largest provider of cement and this appointment reflects the growing importance of China in the global cement industry, as well as the WCA's commitment to connecting the cement community in all countries across the world."

In his address, Song said he wants to unite members, actively strives for support from all sectors including governments and non-governmental organizations, safeguards interests of the industry, fulfills social responsibilities and promotes the sustainable development of the global cement industry in the future.

He explained how CNBM is working to reduce overcapacity and increase industrial concentration.

"We have been increasing the degree of industrial concentration of cement in China from 12 percent in 2006 to 57 percent in 2016, which set an example for the whole industry," Song said.

As chairman of the world's largest provider of cement, with a capacity of 530 million tons per year, Song emphasized CNBM's efforts in the area of environmental protection.

"The production of cement strongly depends on resources and is sensitive to the environment... We put environment first because we know that some changes will be irreversible if the environment is damaged," he said.

Song has over 30 years of experience in business and management in China's building material industry. He has been chairman of CNBM since October 2005.