Full text: Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative

4.4 Innovative growth

Innovation is one of the main drivers for the sustainable development of ocean-based economies. Efforts will be undertaken to improve cooperation in the fields of marine scientific research, education and training, and cultural communications, in order to enhance understanding of the ocean, facilitate the application of scientific and technological innovations, and to garner public support for intensifying ocean cooperation.

Furthering cooperation in marine scientific research and technological development. Together with countries along the Road, China will launch a Marine Science and Technology Cooperation Partnership Initiative, jointly survey and research the key waters and passages along the Road, forecast anomalies and assess impacts by researching the interactions between monsoons and the ocean, and by conducting geoscience surveys of the continental margin of the Indian Ocean. Further efforts will be undertaken to intensify cooperation in the fields of marine survey, observation technologies, renewable energy, seawater desalination, marine bio-pharmacy, seafood technology, drones and unmanned vessels. Cooperation in mutual recognition of marine technological standards and technology transfer will also be boosted. Scientific research institutions are encouraged to develop partnerships with enterprises in establishing oversea bases for the demonstration and promotion of marine technology.

Building platforms for marine technology cooperation. Together with countries along the Road, China will build platforms for the sharing of marine research infrastructure, data and technic resources, and marine technological cooperation parks. Efforts will be undertaken to facilitate the development of the APEC Marine Sustainable Development Center, the East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform, the China-ASEAN Marine Cooperation Center, the China-ASEAN College of Marine Sciences, the China-PEMSEA Sustainable Coastal Management Cooperation Center, the China-Malaysia Joint Marine Research Center, the China-Indonesia Center for Ocean and Climate, the China-Thailand Joint Laboratory for Climate and Marine Ecosystem, the China-Pakistan Joint Marine Scientific Research Center, and the China-Israel Seawater Desalination Joint Research Center, so as to improve our capacity to achieve innovation in marine technology.

Jointly building smart ocean application platforms. Marine data and information sharing among different countries will be heightened and cooperative mechanisms and networks set up among marine databases. Countries are encouraged to work together on marine data re-analysis and application, to build the Center for Marine Meteorological and Oceanographic Climate Data, and jointly develop marine big data and cloud platform technologies so as to launch public information sharing platforms serving socio-economic development.

Conducting marine education and cultural exchange. The Marine Scholarship Program will enjoy continued funding from China, and more individuals from the countries along the Road will come to China for research and training. Efforts will be undertaken to implement marine knowledge and cultural exchange and integration programs. Coastal cities in China are encouraged to launch sister city partnerships with counterparts in the countries along the Road. Efforts will be undertaken to enhance exchange and cooperation with non-profit marine organizations and science education organizations. The Matsu folk culture will be promoted and the world Matsu marine culture center set up. Cooperation in marine cultural heritage protection and underwater archaeology and excavation will be promoted. The Ocean Culture Year and the Ocean Arts Festival will be held in countries along the Road to celebrate the Maritime Silk Road's spirit of friendly cooperation throughout the ages.

Joint promotion of ocean related culture. Media cooperation will be enhanced via cross border interviews and other efforts, in order to develop a media "circle of friends". We will collaborate on maritime art creation to present the local customs and lifestyles of countries along the Road, thus laying a solid foundation of public support.

4.5 Collaborative governance

The Blue Partnership is an effective way for promoting ocean cooperation. Efforts will be undertaken to promote policy coordination, deepen common understanding, enhance mutual political trust, build bilateral and multilateral cooperative mechanisms and to jointly participate in ocean governance, in order to provide the institutional framework for ocean cooperation.

Developing high-level dialogue mechanisms for marine affairs. China will work with countries along the Road to set up coordination and dialogue mechanisms at different levels and through multiple channels to formulate instruments for inter-governmental and inter-departmental cooperative, including action plans and roadmaps, and to promote major cooperative programs. Joint efforts will be undertaken towards developing high-level dialogue mechanisms among countries along the Road with the mission of implementing action plans and addressing major issues. The China-Small Island States Ocean-related Ministerial Round Table Meeting and the China-South Europe Marine Cooperation Forum will be held as planned.