China issues a white paper on marine eco-environmental protection on July 11, 2024. Photo/GT

China on Thursday issued a white paper on marine eco-environmental protection, presenting a full picture of China's ideas, actions, and achievements in marine eco-environmental protection to the international community to facilitate understanding of China's conservation efforts and advance international cooperation in this regard.

The white paper titled "Marine Eco-Environmental Protection in China" was issued by the State Council Information Office. It includes seven parts elaborating on China's efforts to improve the marine eco-environment and promote harmonious coexistence between humans and oceans, coordinating marine eco-environmental protection, the systematic governance of the marine eco-environment, the country's science-based conservation and restoration of marine ecosystem. 

The white paper also introduces how China has been strengthening supervision and administration of the marine eco-environment, advancing its green and low-carbon maritime development and carrying out all-round international cooperation on marine eco-environmental protection.  

In October 2023, the State Council Information Office released a white paper on development of China's distant-water fisheries. Analysts said that Thursday's white paper, which is also about maritime development, offers an overall picture on how China has taken its responsibility to protect and improve the marine environment to conserve and use marine resources in a sustainable way. 

The white paper systematically elaborates on the concepts, practices, and achievements of China's eco-environmental protection. We hope that its release will enable the international community to gain a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of China's efforts in this field, thereby fostering greater exchanges and cooperation, Sun Shuxian, vice minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and also administrator of the State Oceanic Administration, said at a press conference on Thursday.   

In the preface, the white paper stressed the importance of the marine eco-environment, noting that it is essential to the ecological balance of the planet, to the rational use of resources, to sustainable development of human civilization, and to the present and future development of the maritime community of shared future. Its protection is important for national eco-environmental security, sustainable maritime development, and the harmonious coexistence between humans and the ocean.

Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, in order to complete new tasks and meet new requirements for marine eco-environmental protection in this new era, China has launched a series of campaigns and has made historic transformations and progress of overarching importance, according to the white paper. 

It noted that while China continues to follow best practices in the past, it has been working hard on innovating new approaches to protect the marine eco-environment, including respecting nature and prioritizing eco-environmental conservation, integrating conservation and management, enforcing supervision in accordance with laws, pursuing innovation-driven and tech-led development; pursuing green transformation and low-carbon development, and maintaining a global vision and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation. 

The white paper highlights several key aspects, particularly the comprehensive implementation of measures related to marine eco-environmental protection, enhancements of legal and institutional frameworks, and the integration of new technologies in this field. Notably, the strategies for controlling and preventing marine pollution, restoring marine ecosystems, and managing marine resources could provide valuable insights and experiences for the international community, Zhang Yancang, director of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Research Institute of Dalian Maritime University, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

In the third part of expounding China's systematic governance of the marine eco-environment, the white paper explains how China has continued to tighten regular supervision over industries such as marine engineering, dumping of wastes at sea, mariculture, and maritime transport, and active response to marine environmental emergencies. 

China is exercising strict control over the eco-environmental impact of marine engineering and dumping of wastes at sea. It is formulating technical standards to bring marine engineering pollutants into discharge permit administration. Also, the Chinese government enforces strict ocean dumping permits, and exercises off-site supervision through automatic vessel identification and online monitoring of ocean dumping to minimize the eco-environmental impact of waste dumping, according to the white paper. 

Moreover, China is enforcing systematic pollution prevention and control of mariculture, intensifying pollution prevention and control for ships in ports, and establishing the marine environment emergency response system. 

More concrete data and examples have been listed in the white paper to underscore China's efforts in identifying environmental risks. For example, Liaoning, Hebei, and Shandong provinces and Tianjin Municipality in the Circum-Bohai Sea Region have conducted assessment of risks of environmental emergencies and worked out contingency response plans for more than 5,400 key enterprises involved in hazardous chemicals, heavy metals, industrial waste, and nuclear power. 

Marine issues are global issues, and protecting the marine eco-environment is a common concern for people all over the world. The white paper said China has conducted in-depth mutually beneficial cooperation with the international community through multiple channels and in various forms, contributing Chinese wisdom to global marine eco-environmental protection. 

While expanding cooperation in deep-sea and polar scientific expedition, China has been working with other countries to promote sustainable development of these regions. 

For example, China has built five Antarctic research stations, and two Arctic research stations in Norway and Iceland, which serve as important platforms for several thousand scientists to carry out polar observation, biological monitoring, and glacier research. 

Additionally, it has organized 13 scientific expeditions in the Arctic Ocean and 40 in the Antarctic, while signing memorandums of understanding or joint statements with the US, Russia, Australia, Iceland, and New Zealand and carrying out international cooperation with more than 10 countries, according to the white paper. 

In the conclusion part, the white paper noted that as China embarks on a new journey of rejuvenating the Chinese nation through Chinese modernization, the country's maritime endeavors have entered an era of historic opportunities with protecting the marine eco-environment becoming an essential requirement and fundamental guarantee for building China into a strong maritime country and achieving harmony between humans and the sea. 

The white paper said the country will continue to build a marine eco-environment underpinned by harmony between humans and the sea. It also said that China is ready to work with other countries to build a cleaner and more beautiful world where oceans serve as a permanent home for humans to live and thrive.

Analysts also stressed that the release of the white paper serves as a comprehensive review of China's achievements in marine eco-environmental protection and will guide future efforts in this field. Zhang emphasized that China can apply the advanced practices outlined in the white paper to better enhance protection measures in key maritime areas, particularly around the South China Sea.

Regarding future eco-environmental protection in the South China Sea, Zhang suggested prioritizing efforts to strengthen pollution prevention and control, promote sustainable fisheries, establish and expand marine protected areas, undertake restoration projects for coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds, and bolster ecosystem resilience.

Furthermore, Zhang emphasized the importance of fostering cooperation among countries and regions bordering the South China Sea to collectively address ecological and environmental challenges and establish cross-border ecological protection mechanisms.