Experts call for building maritime community with a shared future

Themed "Win-Win Blue Future: China's Solution and the Global Vision," the Shanghai Forum for A Maritime Community with A Shared Future was held Wednesday at Shanghai Maritime University, aiming to contribute Chinese wisdom on global maritime development, governance, cooperation and security.

The forum commemorates the sixth anniversary of China's introduction of the concept of building a maritime community with a shared future, first proposed in April 2019. Over the past six years, this concept has been continuously deepened from theory to practice.

Nearly 200 experts from universities and colleges, ports and shipping companies and research institutes in the maritime and ocean fields attended the forum.

In an initiative issued at the event, participants called for joint efforts to protect mankind's blue homeland and build a shared blue future, advocating for enhanced maritime security awareness, regulated development of marine resources, protection of the marine ecological environment, safe and orderly maritime navigation, safeguarding of national maritime rights and interests, and the maintenance of peace and stability at sea.

At the forum, national security experts, senior diplomats and experts on international studies carried out in-depth discussions on various topics, including people-to-people diplomacy, international maritime cooperation, the evolving global situation and ocean governance.

Attendees at the forum agreed that building a maritime community with a shared future is in the same vein as building a community with a shared future for mankind, transcending the traditional concept of maritime power featuring a zero-sum game of "we win, you lose". Instead, the idea of building a maritime community with a shared future has upheld the fine tradition of Chinese maritime culture, and it embodies Oriental wisdom such as honoring promises and good faith, and pursuing amity and good neighborliness.

They have also seen the idea has injected new impetus for China to deepen maritime exchanges and cooperation, promoting exchanges and strengthening mutual understanding while providing public products and expanding its circle of friends. It also carries China's proposition of perfecting the global maritime governance system, aiming to push it forward in a fair and legitimate direction.

Following the main forum, four panel discussions were set up to spotlight maritime development, governance, cooperation and security, respectively. A wide range of maritime topics were explored, including marine resource development, clean marine energy utilization, marine biodiversity conservation, regional maritime cooperation mechanism innovation and sustainable maritime development.