Cooperation key to sustainable development of marine sector

The 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum, held from Oct 24 to 25 in the Xihai'an (West Coast) New Area in Qingdao, Shandong province, was focused on deepening international exchanges and cooperation in the marine sector and boosting high-quality development of the region's blue economy.

Hosted by the Shandong provincial government and the Ministry of Natural Resource, the forum brought together 667 representatives, experts and scholars from marine organizations, universities, research institutions, and enterprises across 41 countries and regions, using combined online-offline methods to foster global communication and cooperation in areas such as marine economy, technology and ecology.

It covered a main forum, a thematic dialogue titled East Asia: Towards A New Future of Maritime Cooperation, four parallel summits, and six special events, highlighting key fields such as marine biotechnology, deep-sea resources, marine disaster prevention and reduction, port shipping, marine science and technology, blue finance, marine low-carbon economy, and marine ecological protection.

Concurrent events included a display of Shandong's marine development achievements, the East Asia Marine Expo, a photo exhibition featuring the world's most beautiful bays, and the RoboCup Asia-Pacific 2024, or RCAP 2024 Qingdao.

At the opening ceremony, the 2024 China Ocean Development Index Report and the 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum Qingdao Initiative were released, with 30 major marine projects in Shandong signed on-site.

The ocean development index is a comprehensive quantitative assessment of China's marine growth over a certain period, covering six areas: economic livelihood, technological innovation, ecological environment, resource utilization, openness, and comprehensive management. The 2024 report shows that from 2016 to 2023, the index grew by an average of 2.9 percent annually, with the 2023 index at 125.3, a 3 percent increase from 2022. This reflects solid progress in high-quality marine development and continuous achievements in building a strong marine nation.

Thirty major marine projects in Shandong, with a total investment of 65.6 billion yuan ($9.18 billion), were signed on-site, covering fields such as marine-related renewable energy and materials, transportation, engineering equipment manufacturing, and biopharmaceuticals. These projects aim to further integrate innovation, industry, capital and talent chains.

At the main forum, experts and scholars mentioned the economic value and development potential of the ocean. They said many economic activities, such as marine fisheries, maritime transport, shipbuilding, marine energy, and marine tourism, rely on the ocean. After years of development, the global marine economy is now equivalent in scale to the world's seventh-largest economy.

Addressing the challenge of decarbonizing the maritime economy while maintaining its growth is complex. "This requires us to reduce emissions scientifically. It is foreseeable that green fuels will develop in the coming years," said Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and chief representative of Maersk in North Asia, at the main forum.

"The ocean is an indispensable source of life and livelihood. We have not treated it well, which is why we gather here today with an unprecedented sense of urgency," said Evgenios Kalpyris, Greece's ambassador to China, at the event.

He noted that today's rapidly changing world cannot ignore the climate crisis in any planning. Greece is actively fulfilling its responsibility, having reduced emissions by 43 percent since 2005, ranking first in the EU.Greece also leads in renewable energy, ranking fourth in the EU in wind and solar power proportion. "We will continue to lead, especially in new areas such as offshore wind energy, ensuring that economic development goes hand-in-hand with nature conservation."

Thorir Ibsen, Iceland's ambassador to China, shared Iceland's experience in sustainable fisheries development. "Half a century ago, Iceland implemented a national sustainable fisheries management system to prevent our most valuable fish stocks from collapsing," he said. This system comprises three key elements: scientific resource assessment and management, transferable fishing quotas, and transparent supervision and enforcement mechanisms. Thanks to this system, Iceland's fisheries are now among the world's most advanced in sustainability.

As the event's host, Qingdao issued a global initiative to create a prosperous, innovative, beautiful, and accessible ocean, benefiting all of humanity.

For years, the city has considered the ocean as a strategic area for high-quality development. It has systematically issued guidelines to build a modern marine economy and launched an action plan to cultivate new quality productive forces in the sector.

For example, Qingdao has launched 10 leading innovation platforms and 140 key projects with a total investment of 210 billion yuan. It has also established an industrial system for marine technology, enacted a talent plan, deepened exchanges with other countries, and taken new strides in constructing a leading modern marine city.

The 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum takes place from Oct 24 to 25 in Qingdao, Shandong province. CHINA DAILY