Maritime cooperation between China and Russia is expected to
receive a boost this week, following a two-day meeting in
Beijing.
The first working group began discussions yesterday as China
reaffirmed its commitment to promote cooperation at sea with
Russia
Sun Zhihui, deputy director of the State Oceanic Administration
(SOA), said they hoped for concrete measures to implement a
previous agreement signed on May 27 last year covering a wide range
of fields.
Liang Jinzhe, from the SOA's international cooperation
department, said that there are about 40 areas for potential
cooperation on the agenda and that around half are expected to be
put into practice after the meeting.
Discussions include possible co-work on marine ecological
protection, legislation on the use and protection of the ocean,
marine information and data exchange and polar research.
Liang said the administration is working hard to formulate plans
to further marine development with other countries. Agreements have
been signed with over 20 nations but, according to Liang, the
agreement with Russia is at the highest level and the most
comprehensive.
Headed by Shiryaev Boris Konstantinovich, from the Russian
Federation's Ministry of Natural Resources, a group of 11 marine
experts are attending the meeting.
(China Daily November 10, 2004)