The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit will be held in Qingdao in East China next month. And the coastal city in Shandong province has been using innovative technology to develop its marine economy.
Qingdao has both land connections with Europe through railways and maritime connections with other countries – giving the city an important role in advancing the nation's Belt & Road Initiative.
As a result, local officials have all the more reason to gear up for the summit.
Zhang Jiangting, Party Secretary of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee said, "We have been working to make a summit with 'Global standards, Chinese charm, Shandong style and Qingdao features.' We will tie traditional Chinese culture with the Belt & Road Initiative to make the summit high-level and unique."
Officials also noted that China has a large maritime presence. The selection of Qingdao as the host city reflects the importance of developing the marine economy.
The Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology is an example of the city's efforts in bringing in resources and professional teams to improve China's ability to innovate.
Wei Zhiqiang from the Qingdao National Lab for Marine Science and Technology, said,"We are now developing the Transparent Ocean project to integrate ocean observation, scientific research and climate predictions to improve ocean management. The supercomputer center has the fastest machine in the global marine industry with super high resolution. The researchers conduct surveys in the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, and the West Pacific Ocean, which is an important part of the Belt & Road Initiative."
Petrel II Glider, a Chinese autonomous underwater vehicle used to analyze underwater noise spectrogram. /CGTN Photo
Researchers and engineers said more efforts have gone into developing innovative marine technology. One example is the Haiyan autonomous underwater unmanned vehicle, used for underwater surveillance.
Yang Shaoqiong, a researcher from Qingdao National Lab for Marine Science and Technology, said: "We first need to care about the ocean and get to know the ocean before we can start developing it. Through the civilian platform provided by Haiyan, we should be able to achieve goals for the scientific exploration of marine biology and seabeds, as well as to aid search-and-rescue missions."
Qingdao is striving to be a hub city for the Belt & Road Initiative. Innovative and scientific development of the marine economy has been a key focus for the coastal city. Officials say ocean-related industries are becoming more open to cooperative opportunities with other countries around the world.
