Qingdao hosts 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum

On Thursday, the 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum, held in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, gathered 667 representatives from marine organizations, universities, enterprises and research institutions across 41 countries and regions. The event, blending online and offline participation, seeks to boost international collaboration in marine economy, technology, and ecology.

Hosted by the Shandong Provincial People's Government and the Ministry of Natural Resources, the forum was executed by several local authorities, including the Qingdao Municipal Government and the Shandong Provincial Marine Development Bureau. 

The theme for this year's forum is "Let's 'sea' our futures – promoting blue partnerships for growth and sustainability." The event features a comprehensive agenda with 12 thematic activities, covering topics such as marine biotechnology, deep-sea resources, marine disaster control, port and shipping industries, marine technology, blue finance, low-carbon marine economy, and marine ecological protection.

In conjunction with the forum, four additional events are being held: the Shandong Marine Development Achievement Exhibition, the East Asia Marine Expo, the World's Most Beautiful Bays Photography Exhibition, and the Asia-Pacific Robot World Cup International Invitational in Qingdao.

During the opening ceremony, the 2024 China Ocean Development Index Report and the 2024 Ocean Development Forum Qingdao Initiative were released, and 30 key marine projects from Shandong Province were signed on-site. 

The main forum featured speeches from notable figures such as Sun Shuxian, vice minister of natural resources; Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China; and ambassadors and officials from Iceland, Greece, Cyprus, and UN organizations. Discussions focused on global blue economy collaboration, decarbonized shipping, and the Arctic blue economy.

The 2024 China Ocean Development Index Report provides a comprehensive quantitative assessment of China's marine development over a specified period, covering aspects such as economic livelihood, technological innovation, ecological environment, resource utilization, openness, and comprehensive management. 

According to the report, from 2016 to 2023, China's marine development index grew at an average annual rate of 2.9 percent, reaching 125.3 in 2023, an increase of 3 percent from 2022. This indicates solid progress in high-quality marine development and ongoing achievements in building a marine powerhouse.

The signing of 30 key marine projects in Shandong Province, involving investments in marine new energy materials, marine transportation, marine engineering equipment manufacturing, and marine biomedicine, aims to foster a deep integration of innovation, industry, finance, and talent pool.