"Unlike most synthetic materials made from petroleum, we make similar products from plants, as bio-based polyamides－the basic raw material used to produce a variety of products－are extracted from corn and the stalks of other crops," said Zang Huiqing, vice-president of Cathay Biotech.

国泰生物科技副总裁臧惠清表示：“与大多数由石油制成的合成材料不同，我们从植物中生产类似的产品，因为用于生产各种产品的基本原料生物基聚酰胺是从玉米和其他作物的秸秆中提取的。”。

From its factory in Anshun, a city in Southwest China's Guizhou province, Topseat creates decorative toilet seats from locally sourced, environmentally friendly materials such as bamboo, straw stalks and bio-glues.

In 2014, the company took the lead to make toilet seat covers from straw stalks to turn this potential environmental hazard into a business opportunity.

Topseat has an agreement with Xiayun township in Anshun, which buys straw stalks from local farmers on behalf of the company.

Sales of toilet seats made of straw stalk are expected to reach more than 200,000 pieces this year.

From its factory in Anshun, Southwest China's Guizhou province, Topseat creates bright decorative toilet seats from locally sourced materials such as bamboo, straw stalks and bio-glues.

Topseat has signed a contract with Xiayun township in Anshun, which purchases straw stalks from local farmers on behalf of the company to turn the potential environmental hazards into business opportunity.

According to sources from the Hongqiao Flower Market, the largest of its kind in the city, domestic roses currently cost between 10 and 15 yuan ($1.57 to $2.36) per stalk, while imported roses can cost up to 25 yuan each.

While the largest contributing sources are estimated to be residues from annual crop production like wheat straw, much of the straw and stalks are presently used for cooking and heating in rural households at low efficiencies, according to BioEnergy Consult, an international consulting service provider based in Aligarh, India, in the waste-to-energy sector.

"The technical difficulty lies in the thickening of the rice stalks and the quality of the rice grains," said Luo Zhiqiang, production technology director of Chongqing Dazu Yuanpin Agricultural Development Co. By improving the thickness of the stalks, the plants can grow taller and yield more rice.

The new variety is resistant to heat, diseases, flooding, salt-alkali soil and lodging－where a stalk is bent close to the ground, making the grain difficult to harvest and reducing the yield.

Forum attendees on May 10 visited Greenland's biological natural gas demonstration project in Dingzhou, Heibei province, which uses cow dung and corn stalks to produce clean and environmentally friendly biological natural gas, and Beijing Yingherui's biogas project in Sanhe, Langfang city, which produces 32,300 cubic meters of biogas daily.

"Resellers of chipmaking gear say they cannot find used equipment, leading some buyers to stalk old factories in the United States, Japan and Europe, waiting for them to close in hopes of snapping up the gear inside.

"We are the bamboo stalk that stands tall and proud against wind from all directions, whether north, south, east or west," Xu said.