Between June 27 and 29, 2023, the East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform Qingdao Forum was successfully held in Qingdao West Coast New Area. Themed “Harmonious Coexistence in the Ocean Decade”, it consists of the opening ceremony and main forum and 9 sub-forums, with the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Achievements and Expectations International Symposium, East Asia Marine Expo, and two business matchmaking activities for enterprises held on the sidelines.
The 4-day event gathered the heads of 96 marine-related institutions from 51 countries and regions, as well as nearly 400 marine experts, economists, and cultural scholars, to exchange viewpoints and discuss marine ecological protection, disaster prevention and mitigation, blue partnerships, commercialization of marine scientific and technological achievements, and international maritime cooperation and ocean governance, achieving fruitful results.
During the Forum, 22 guests, including government officials, experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs from the United Nations, marine-related international NGOs, and countries around the world, were invited to interviews where they shared their views on blue carbon, deep sea protection and utilization, marine ecological governance, marine brands, and other marine-related hot topics.
A High-level Forum Focusing on the Ocean Decade
Focusing on one of the seven visions of the UN Ocean Decade — a healthy and resilient ocean, the Forum this year includes a number of such sub-forums as International Symposium of Blue Carbon 2023, Blue Partnerships Forum, and International Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance Forum, as well as a total of 143 themed activities, including 89 keynote speeches and 13 panel discussions, where the viewpoints toward implementation of the Ocean Decade programs and co-development of blue partnerships were fully exchanged.
The Forum was attended by guests from around the world, including senior UN officials such as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, the UN Assistant Secretary-General, and the President of the UN Intergovernmental Conference on BBNJ, ambassadors and diplomatic envoys to China from Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, and other countries and regions, as well as nearly 30 heads of European and Asian business associations and enterprises. The UN Assistant Secretary-General, the Secretary-General of International Seabed Authority and the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of China delivered speeches online.
As the first sub-national government in China that deeply participates in the Ocean Decade, Qingdao West Coast New Area joins hands with her blue partners in the Ocean Decade, to build a bright future and break new grounds for the ocean. At the opening ceremony and main forum, Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Ma Xinmin, Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Jiao Nianzhi, CAS Academician and head of Global Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions (ONCE) Program delivered keynote speeches on improving ocean governance and strengthening opening-up and exchange.
In Blue Partnerships Forum, five ambassadors were invited to have dialogues on promoting the development of multi-level, wide-ranging and sustainable blue partnerships between China and Pacific island countries.
China Classification Society, an authoritative third-party organization, was also entrusted by the Forum to verify and evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the Forum activities. According to the Society’s estimation, the Forum emitted 821 tons of CO2 equivalence which will be fully offset by the carbon sink generated by the shellfish culture projects in Qingdao West Coast New Area, thus achieving carbon neutrality.
East Asia Marine Expo, themed “Harmonious Coexistence in the Ocean Decade — Blue, Ocean and Technology” and with a total exhibition area of 60,000 square meters, includes six exhibition zones, i.e. Port and Shipping Exhibition Zone, Marine Engineering Equipment Exhibition Zone, Smart Marine Exhibition Zone, Marine Cultural Tourism Exhibition Zone, Marine Emergency and Rescue Industry Exhibition Zone, and Marine Country Commodities Exhibition Zone, mainly showcasing new technologies and achievements in the international marine field. More than 600 enterprises and institutions from over 30 countries and regions attended the Expo on site, including 29 Fortune Global 500 companies, 28 national research institutes, and 45 industrial flagships, attracting 72,000 visitors — 24,000 of which are trade visitors, as estimated. Along with the Expo, over 30 business activities, such as the Negotiation Meeting for Marine-related Enterprises, and meetings for business matchmaking negotiation, new product and technology promotion, and marine cultural tourism promotion were held, helping 68 key enterprises and institutions target partners, and bringing about 227 cooperation intentions.
A Fruitful Forum for In-depth and Down-to-earth Cooperation
Qingdao Initiative for the Ocean Decade was released by Chen Danhong, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation (Department of Maritime Rights and Interests) of the Ministry of Natural Resources at the opening ceremony, Qingdao Initiative for Blue Carbon was launched at International Symposium of Blue Carbon 2023, and Qingdao Initiative for East Asia Marine Cooperation and Governance officially debuted at International Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance Forum. Moreover, a series of achievements were released, such as Global Near-real-time Carbon Emissions Report (2022-2023), Report Collection of Deep Sea Protection and Utilization Forum, Situation Analysis Report on Ecosystems of the Yellow Sea, and Research Report on Brands Empowering High-quality Development of Marine Economy, which effectively expanded the influence and popularity of the Forum.
Heads of the 5 China-based Ocean Decade Programmes approved by the UN as well as their peers from Thailand, the U.K. and other countries had dialogues in Qingdao West Coast New Area, discussing developing a liaison mechanism for scientists for the development vision of the Ocean Decade.
The Forum also witnessed the establishment of the Chinese and Japanese Innovative Enterprises Accelerator and the initiation of the China-EU Blue Industry Collaborative Development Cooperation Alliance, the signing of a strategic cooperation memorandum between Marexi Marine Technology of Spain and Qingdao LiMap Marine Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., the plan of two enterprises to headquarter in Qingdao West Coast New Area, and nine cooperation and intention agreements.
As a state-level new area with “marine economic development” as one of its major features, Qingdao West Coast New Area is committed to revitalizing the marine economy based on science and technology, strengthening the marine sectors based on industries, broadening sea access, preserving marine ecology, and well coordinating development both on land and at sea, in a bid to achieve green, low-carbon and high-quality development of the marine economy. Focusing on “a healthy and resilient ocean”, the New Area gives top priority to the preservation of marine ecology and has made remarkable achievements in this regard, including the blue bay restoration, the approval as a climate investment and financing pilot district, among China’s first batch and marking the first in Shandong Province, as well as the establishment of China’s first natural carbon sink trading center. Besides, its Lingshan Island has been certificated as China’s first “carbon-negative island”, and the Lingshan Bay has been listed among the outstanding cases of beautiful bays in China, all making contributions to creating a green and sustainable marine ecological environment. The New Area will draw on the important momentum generated by the Qingdao Forum to continue to operate the East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform in a physical, professional, distinctive, and international manner, promote the construction of a cross-border blue industrial park and a leading zone for international cooperation in the marine economy, and create Qingdao’s model and Shandong’s practice for international marine cooperation, thus offering China’s solutions and wisdom for intensive participation in the global ocean governance.