From April 21 to April 23, 2026, the GS1 Standards Week 2026 was held in Brussels, Belgium. For the first time since 2019, the meeting convened 600 global experts from digitalization, e-commerce and supply chain management, with 250 attending in person and 350 participating virtually. The conference focused on the evolution of the GS1 standards system and the collaborative development of industry standards. A delegation from GS1 China attended the meeting in person.

The meeting focused on key topics: Digital Product Passport (DPP), Global Product Classification (GPC) standards, and GTIN Allocation Rules for Healthcare. To align with regulations including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), GS1 revised its regulation-led standard-setting process. It adopted parallel development and prioritized provisional standards, which greatly boosted standard implementation efficiency.

GS1 China actively participated in discussions within the working groups, engaging in in-depth exchanges with international experts on the digital transformation of industries and the collaborative application of standards. This involvement bolstered China’s role and contributions in the global process of item coding standardization.