China's dairy industry has taken a significant step toward strengthening its position in the global premium dairy market with the inauguration of the country's first Global Cheese Research & Development Centre, a strategic collaboration between Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Milkground Food Tech Co, Ltd. Located in Dengkou County, Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia, the research facility is designed to become a national innovation platform dedicated to advancing cheese science, accelerating commercialization of dairy technologies and supporting China's transition toward higher-value dairy products.
The centre reflects China's broader strategy of moving beyond traditional liquid dairy products into premium, value-added segments, as rising consumer demand for cheese, functional nutrition and processed dairy products reshapes the country's food industry. The research platform will focus on six core disciplines—nutritional science, dairy raw materials and processing technologies, sensory and flavour science, standards and regulations, microbiology, and product innovation. By integrating scientific expertise with industrial capabilities, the initiative aims to strengthen research across the entire cheese value chain while accelerating the commercialization of new technologies.
Industry observers increasingly view cheese as a strategic growth segment for China's dairy industry. Beyond offering higher-value product opportunities, expanded cheese production can improve utilization of raw milk, reduce supply imbalances and help stabilize dairy price volatility, creating greater resilience across the sector. The centre is expected to serve as both an innovation incubator and a technology transfer platform, bringing together researchers, universities and industry partners to develop scalable technologies capable of enhancing manufacturing efficiency and product quality.
Through a standardized framework for translating laboratory research into commercial applications, the facility aims to accelerate the development of high-quality, affordable domestically produced cheese while supporting industrial modernization and strengthening China's long-term dairy competitiveness. The initiative also aligns with China's broader ambitions to advance food innovation, improve national nutrition standards and build a more sustainable dairy ecosystem driven by scientific research and technological collaboration. By combining industry leadership with academic research, Mengniu and Milkground are positioning the new centre as a catalyst for the next phase of China's dairy transformation—one centered on premiumization, innovation and greater self-reliance in value-added dairy products.
