An international symposium on ceramics materials and engineering kicked off Sunday in Jingdezhen city in east China's Jiangxi Province, drawing over 200 ceramic experts, company heads and government officials from across the globe.

The symposium is part of the seven months of activities marking the 1,000th anniversary of the establishment of Jingdezhe, widely called the country's "porcelain capital" and known for its artistically delicate ceramic items and advanced ceramic-making technologies.

The two-day symposium was held in Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, China's only college solely focusing on ceramic-related training and education, and jointly organized by China Silicate Association, European Ceramic Society, American Ceramic Association, Jiangxi Provincial and Jingdezhen City Government.

Participants, including six academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) andscholars from Italy, Belgium, the Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States, will conferred on current situations and future growth of ceramic materials and engineering, and discuss ways to further develop global ceramic industry, in which China has been playing a leading role since ancient times, said organizers.

CAS academician Gan Fuxi said on Sunday's opening ceremony that the Symposium constitutes a great communication platform for global ceramic experts and will contribute significantly to China's ceramic materials industry.

G. N. Babini, president of the European Ceramic Society, said Sunday that challenges by globalization to the ceramics industry can be overcome only through international cooperation, and there is "no better place" than China to make such efforts. The country, he said, has greatly contributed to the development of ceramics in"both artistic and scientific fields" and is "deeply and successfully committed to a remarkable process of development and re-launch of its own culture and society."