The ocean is a treasure trove of resources and strategic space to support future development. China is a major maritime country. Making good use of and protecting marine resources is an important task to promote the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made a strategic deployment of "developing the marine economy, protecting the marine ecological environment, and accelerating the construction of a strong maritime nation". General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the China Ecological and Environmental Protection Conference in July 2023 that a large pattern of protection and governance from the top of the mountain to the ocean should be established, and the management and control of the marine and coastal land space should be strengthened. The Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2023 required that the marine economy should be vigorously developed and a strong maritime nation should be built. We must thoroughly study and understand the important expositions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on the development and protection of marine resources, implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, and continuously strengthen the use, protection and governance of the ocean with scientific plans and practical actions, so as to provide blue power for the construction of a beautiful China and make greater contributions to the construction of a strong maritime nation.

I. The Party's innovative theory has led to major achievements in the development and protection of China's marine resources in the new era

General Secretary Xi Jinping has always attached great importance to the development and protection of marine resources. During his work in coastal areas, the General Secretary had profound insights and unique views on developing the marine economy and protecting the marine ecological environment. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the General Secretary has summarized historical experiences and lessons, grasped the development trend of the times, and continuously enriched and improved the theoretical connotation and practical requirements of the development and protection of marine resources, providing a fundamental guideline for the development of China's marine cause, guiding China's marine cause to achieve a series of breakthroughs and form a series of landmark achievements.

The development and protection of marine resources is related to the overall situation of modernization construction. The ocean plays a bridge and link role in the open pattern of linkage between land and sea, and mutual assistance between east and west, providing a stable resource and energy guarantee and continuity space for China's economic and social development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always had deep thoughts on this. When he was working in Fujian, he proposed the strategy of building a "Maritime Fuzhou" and issued a call to "march to the sea." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the General Secretary has further elaborated on the development and protection of marine resources as an important aspect of building a strong maritime nation, and closely linked it with the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. He stressed that "the ocean is an important base of strategic resources", "the role of the ocean in the national economic development pattern and opening up is more important, its position in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests is more prominent, its role in the construction of national ecological civilization is more significant, and its strategic position in international political, economic, military and scientific and technological competition has also increased significantly". The General Secretary's important exposition on the development and protection of marine resources shows his deep feelings for the ocean and far-reaching strategic considerations.

Under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping, major reforms and major projects in the development and protection of China's marine resources have been steadily promoted. Improve the system of marine resource development and protection, strictly control land reclamation, strengthen the protection and utilization of coastlines, establish a target control responsibility system for the retention rate of natural coastlines, and deepen the reform of paid use of sea areas and uninhabited islands. Promote the full integration of marine spatial planning into the land and sea coordinated and multi-plan integrated national land spatial planning system. Carry out marine inspection work to achieve all-round supervision of marine development and protection activities and administrative management. Marine heavy equipment has been launched one after another, and the "Jiaolong", "Deep Sea Warrior", "Struggler", "Haidou No. 1", "Xuelong 2", "Tiankun" and other vessels have become the pride of the country that the General Secretary "publicly praised". Marine oil and gas exploration and development has achieved a leap of 3,000 meters in water depth, and "Blue Whale No. 1" has successfully tested combustible ice in the South China Sea. Implement the marine forecast "chip" project, break through the key core technology of marine forecasting, and realize autonomous and business-oriented operation of early warning modes such as storm surges, tsunamis, and ocean currents.

The development and protection of marine resources is related to the quality of high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly made important instructions on the strategic significance, main direction, and methods of developing the marine economy, emphasizing that "the development of the marine economy has a promising future" and "a developed marine economy is an important support for building a strong maritime country", requiring "improving marine development capabilities, expanding the scope of marine development, and making the marine economy a new growth point", "we must firmly follow the development path of harmony between man and the sea, cooperation and win-win, improve the ability to develop marine resources, and accelerate the cultivation of emerging marine industries", and "focus on promoting the transformation of the marine economy to a quality and efficiency-oriented one". The General Secretary attaches great importance to the important role of scientific and technological innovation in the high-quality development of the marine economy, and emphasizes that "it is especially important to promote the research and development of core technologies and key common technologies urgently needed in the process of marine economic transformation".

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China's marine economy has achieved remarkable results in its transformation to a quality and efficiency-oriented economy. The gross marine product has increased from 5 trillion yuan to 9.46 trillion yuan, accounting for about 8% of China's GDP, playing an important role in "stabilizing growth" and ensuring economic security. The transformation and upgrading of traditional marine industries has accelerated, and the output of seafood has ranked first in the world for many years. Offshore oil and gas has become an important growth pole of national energy. The assembly and construction capacity of marine engineering equipment has entered the world's first echelon, the scale of seawater desalination projects has reached 2.357 million tons/day, and the independently developed marine drugs account for nearly 30% of the global marketed categories, and the world's largest marine microbial resource storage has been built. A series of policies have been introduced to help the economic and social development of coastal areas. China has approved more than 30,000 sea and island projects with an area of about 2.61 million hectares and an investment of more than 63 trillion yuan.

Mangroves are viviparous woody plants rooted in the intertidal zone of the coast. They can prevent wind and waves, purify seawater, and provide habitats for fish, shrimp and birds. They are known as "sea forests" and "ocean defenders". The picture shows the Maoweihai Mangrove Nature Reserve in Qinzhou, Guangxi, taken on July 23, 2023 (drone photo). Xinhua News Agency reporter Cao Yiming/Photo

The development and protection of marine resources is related to the construction of a beautiful China. General Secretary Xi Jinping placed marine protection in a very important position, systematically expounded the positioning, principles and goals of marine ecological civilization construction, emphasized that "we must care for the ocean as we care for life", pointed out that "strengthening the construction of marine ecological civilization is an important part of ecological civilization construction", "we must incorporate the construction of marine ecological civilization into the overall layout of marine development, adhere to the balance of development and protection, pollution prevention and ecological restoration, scientifically and rationally develop and utilize marine resources, and maintain the natural reproduction capacity of the ocean".

In implementing the important instructions and requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping, China pays attention to strict management, systematic protection, and scientific restoration to further build a solid marine ecological security barrier. We will promote the implementation of integrated marine management based on ecosystems, conserve and intensively utilize marine resources, and use a variety of regulatory measures to promptly discover and stop illegal use of the sea and islands. We will comprehensively delineate the red line for marine ecological protection, and the area of marine natural reserves will reach 94,000 square kilometers. We will organize and implement major marine ecological protection and restoration projects such as the comprehensive improvement of the "Blue Bay", the ecological restoration of the Bohai Sea, the protection and restoration of mangroves, and the coastal zone protection and restoration project, and improve and restore 2,000 kilometers of coastline and 40,000 hectares of coastal wetlands. We will formulate an action plan for marine carbon sinks, implement surveys and monitoring of blue carbon ecosystems, and gradually find out the carbon storage base and carbon sink potential of China's blue carbon ecosystems. We will continue to increase our efforts to prevent and control marine pollution, and the water quality of China's coastal waters will continue to improve.

The development and protection of marine resources is related to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. The connectivity, mobility, and openness of the ocean determine that the problems of marine resources and ecological environment need to be faced by all countries in the world, and no country can stay out of it or be immune to it. Human beings live in the same "global village" and enjoy the same "blue". General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out that "the blue planet we humans live on is not divided into isolated islands by the ocean, but is connected by the ocean into a community of shared destiny, where people of all countries share common security and danger". The concept of a community of shared destiny for the ocean fully reflects the natural attributes and ecological characteristics of the global ocean, which is "interconnected and interactive", and effectively integrates the dominant values and goal vision of "protection first, peaceful cooperation" for the global ocean. The General Secretary has repeatedly proposed initiatives and made commitments on international marine affairs on different occasions, advocating the promotion of maritime connectivity and practical cooperation in various fields, actively developing "blue partnerships", and turning deep sea, polar regions and other fields into "new frontiers for cooperation among all parties, rather than arenas for mutual competition", providing a Chinese solution for the development of global ocean governance in a more just and reasonable direction.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has comprehensively promoted the concept of a community of shared destiny for the ocean, and deeply participated in and supported global ocean governance. It has played a constructive role in the formulation of rules on deep-sea mining, conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction under the United Nations framework. It has implemented the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in light of national conditions, and actively participated in initiatives and actions such as the United Nations "Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development". Following the release of the "Vision of Maritime Cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative" in 2017, a special forum on marine cooperation was held for the first time at the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2023, and the "Belt and Road Blue Cooperation Initiative" and the list of blue cooperation achievements were released. Maritime cooperation has achieved fruitful results, and the Chinese plan has been widely accepted. The "Blue Partnership" mechanism has become more mature and cooperation has become more dynamic. During the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference, China held a side event on "Promoting Blue Partnership for a Sustainable Future", jointly released the "Blue Partnership Principles", promoted the formation of a "sustainable blue partnership cooperation network", and promoted the "Blue Partnership Action", showing the image of a responsible major country. The protection and utilization of the deep sea and polar regions has reached a new level. The "Digital Deep Sea Typical Habitats" mega-science plan has been included in the United Nations "Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development" initiative. China already has 5 exploration mining areas with an area of 235,000 square kilometers in the international seabed area, becoming the country with the largest number of mining areas and the most complete types of minerals. Continue to organize Antarctic and Arctic Ocean expeditions. China has become the first country in Asia to reach the North Pole by driving an icebreaker. It hosted the 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting and made positive progress in building the "Ice Silk Road".

Second, accurately grasp the requirements for the development and protection of marine resources under the new situation

The achievements in the development and protection of marine resources since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China have been hard-won and encouraging, fully demonstrating the truth and practical power of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. At the same time, we must also see that the international marine situation is becoming increasingly complex, and international rules in key areas of global ocean governance are being formulated, which has increased the external contradictions, risks and potential opportunities for the development and protection of marine resources. China is building a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development. The contradiction between the supply and demand of marine resources and the problem of optimizing development and utilization need to be solved urgently, and the people's requirements for a better life carried by the ocean are more extensive and diverse. We must coordinate the two major situations of China and the international situation, the two relations of development and protection, and the two major issues of high-quality development and high-level security, and take more powerful measures to improve the level of development and protection of marine resources.

The picture shows a marine ranch in Dinghai Bay, Lianjiang, Fujian, taken on June 21, 2023. In recent years, the local area has continued to develop the marine aquaculture industry and has embarked on a distinctive rural revitalization path. Photo by Zhang Bin, a reporter from China News Service

Adhere to the coordinated development of land and sea. Land and sea coordination is an important concept that the Party Central Committee has consistently and consistently promoted in promoting the construction of a maritime power. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the China Ecological and Environmental Protection Conference that we must adhere to the coordinated development of land and sea, and the linkage between rivers and seas, and continue to promote the comprehensive management of key sea areas. On the new journey, we must further enhance the concept of systems and further reflect the innovation of "planning" on the basis of "integration". Based on the basic law of "integration of land and sea", explore effective ways to coordinate the allocation of land and sea resources and ecological protection. Based on major national strategies, optimize the layout of major infrastructure, major productivity and public resources, and form a development situation in which land promotes the sea and the sea leads the land.

Adhere to innovation-driven. Innovation is the first driving force for leading development and a key factor that runs through all areas and links of marine resource development and protection and plays a decisive role. Compared with developed maritime countries, China's strategic, basic and disruptive marine science and technology innovation capabilities are insufficient, original and high value-added innovation results are relatively few, and the "bottleneck" problem of core technologies and key common technologies is still relatively prominent. We must adhere to what we should do and what we should not do, take achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance as a strategic goal, continue to deepen key areas, and strive to break through the bottlenecks of marine core equipment and key technologies.

Adhere to ecological priority. A beautiful ocean is an important part of a beautiful China, and blue sea and blue sky are also gold and silver mountains. Coordinating the relationship between man and nature, and the relationship between development and protection is an important principle for promoting the construction of a maritime power. We must adhere to the principle of giving priority to conservation, protection, and natural recovery, properly handle the relationship between marine resource development, high-quality development of the marine economy, and high-level protection, promote integrated marine management based on ecosystems, strengthen scientific layout, overall protection, system restoration, and efficient utilization, guard the ecological security boundary, give the ocean enough time and space to recuperate, and comprehensively improve the efficiency of marine resource utilization.

Adhere to the people first. Meeting the multi-level and diversified needs of the general public for the ocean is an important criterion for measuring the level of building a strong maritime nation. We must firmly establish the people-centered development concept, take the realization of people's yearning for a better life as the starting point and foothold, "Let the people eat green, safe and reliable seafood, enjoy the blue sea and blue sky, and clean beaches". We must focus on the "pain points" and "shortcomings" of the development and protection of marine resources that the people feel and reflect, better meet the people's demands for the safety of life and property, the quality of high-quality seafood supply, the health of the marine ecological environment, and the sea-friendly space, and further enhance their sense of happiness, gain and security.

Adhere to win-win cooperation. As a developing maritime power, the ocean is increasingly becoming an important theme for China to move closer to the center of the world stage. We must expand the depth and breadth of participation in global ocean governance, based on China's resource endowment and development stage, grasp the path and method, rhythm and intensity, and do what should be done and what can be done at present. It is necessary to combine China's marine protection and utilization actions with the fulfillment of international treaties and obligations, and demonstrate the responsibility of a major country; it is also necessary to actively share China's wisdom and achievements in marine governance with the world, and continuously expand the "circle of friends at sea".

Third, pay close attention to the development and protection of marine resources

On the new journey, we must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, fully implement the deployment of the China Ecological and Environmental Protection Conference and the Central Economic Work Conference, focus on key areas and key links, pay close attention to the development and protection of marine resources, and ensure that all decisions of the Party Central Committee are implemented and effective.

Optimize the spatial layout of marine development and protection. Implement the "Outline of China's National Land Space Planning (2021-2035)", issue and implement the "Spatial Planning of Coastal Zone and Nearshore Waters (2021-2035)", plan and scientifically construct the order of marine space utilization as a whole, and promote the formation of a marine space pattern of point development, moderate agglomeration, and optimization of the near and expansion of the far. Strengthen the matching of land and sea main functions, and create an important supporting space for the three major marine economic circles in the north, east and south. Strictly adhere to the red line of ecological protection, strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of protection results and optimize measures. Actively guide the optimization of layout and integrated development of marine industries, strengthen the overall layout of industrial activities such as marine aquaculture and offshore wind power, and major infrastructure such as coastal ports and submarine cables. Expand coastal tourism space and create high-quality sea-friendly space. Fully consider marine disaster risk factors such as storm surges and sea level rise, and optimize the urban and rural spatial layout of the coastal zone.

Improve the efficiency of marine resource utilization. Carry out a survey of China's marine resources and form a regular survey system to find out the status of China's marine natural resources and ecological environment. Strengthen the management of marine and coastal land space, and gradually form and improve the use control system and system that covers all sea areas, islands and coastlines, and combines sea-using industries with sea-using methods. Strictly control new reclamation and effectively utilize existing resources. Strengthen the protection of island resources and strictly manage the development and utilization of uninhabited islands. Strengthen the classified protection of coastlines and promote the establishment of a coastal building setback line system. Study the policy requirements for intensive use of the sea by key sea-using industries or industries with strategic significance, and promote refined management of industry¡¯s use of the sea. Orderly promote the three-dimensional stratification of sea area rights, explore the three-dimensional zoning of marine functions, and study the establishment of an exit mechanism for inefficient sea use.

Improve the diversity, stability and sustainability of marine ecosystems. Fully complete the integration and optimization of marine nature reserves, scientifically demonstrate and solidly promote the construction of national parks, and build marine ecological corridors and biodiversity protection networks. Continue to promote the implementation of major coastal ecological protection and restoration projects, adhere to the coordinated development of land and sea, and the linkage between rivers and seas, and promote the protection and restoration of marine ecology in coastal waters with "one bay, one policy", and continuously improve the quality and stability of typical marine ecosystems such as mangroves. Continue to consolidate and enhance the marine carbon sink capacity, and establish and improve the blue carbon trading rules system. Do a good job in the prevention and control of marine environmental pollution, and control marine garbage and microplastics. Innovate the value realization mechanism of marine ecological products. Improve the marine ecological early warning and monitoring system, and promote the national global ocean stereoscopic observation network. Build a safe coastal zone, improve the early identification ability of major marine disaster risks, implement ecosystem restoration and ecological transformation of seawalls according to local conditions, and promote the synergy and efficiency of ecology and disaster reduction.

Promote the green and low-carbon development of the marine economy. Promote the deep integration of marine economy into major national regional strategies, and build a number of high-quality marine economic development demonstration zones, characteristic marine industrial clusters and modern marine cities. Promote the vigorous development of emerging marine industries, promote the large-scale utilization of seawater desalination, and enhance the service capabilities of the marine drug and biological product industry transformation platform. Guide the transformation of traditional marine industries, develop deep-water offshore aquaculture and sustainable offshore fisheries, strengthen the construction of marine oil and gas safety production guarantees and emergency response capabilities, and develop green ports. Promote the quality upgrade of marine culture and tourism. Promote the development of new energy and clean energy equipment manufacturing such as tidal energy, wave energy, floating wind power, and offshore energy islands, and serve to promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality.

For many years, Hainan Lingshui Bianjiezhou Island has continued to carry out coral conservation work and implement marine ecological restoration projects such as coral transplantation, and the coral coverage rate in nearby waters has increased significantly. The picture shows corals photographed in the waters near Bianjiezhou Island on June 8, 2023. Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Liyun/Photo

Deeply participate in international marine governance. Fully participate in the formulation and implementation of the ocean governance mechanism and relevant rules of the United Nations, its specialized agencies and regional organizations, and implement the China Action for the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Focusing on building a blue partnership, carry out all-round, multi-field and in-depth bilateral and multilateral cooperation with coastal countries, and incorporate blue economic cooperation into international sub-regional integrated cooperation. Carry out higher-level and deeper maritime cooperation in the construction of the "Belt and Road", and actively improve the dialogue and cooperation mechanism with the co-construction countries of the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road". Initiate an international marine public service co-construction and sharing plan, and strive to promote the formation of more public service products and solutions. Build international and regional platforms such as the Global Coastal Forum and the China-Southeast Asian Countries, African Countries, and Island Countries Forum to amplify the influence of marine ecology and sustainable development governance. Strengthen the investigation and evaluation of deep-sea mineral resources and biodiversity, continue to carry out scientific investigations and protection in the Arctic and Antarctic, participate in practical cooperation in the Arctic, and enhance China's ability to participate in the protection, utilization and governance of deep-sea polar regions.

Strengthen support and guarantee for the development and protection of marine resources. Coordinate resources in various fields, gather forces from all sides, and fight a "combination punch" of rule of law, supervision, technology, and publicity. Strengthen legal safeguards, promote the implementation of the Marine Environmental Protection Law and the Law on Exploration and Development of Resources in Deep Seabed Areas, and carry out the formulation and revision of the Law on Management of Sea Area Use, the Law on Protection of Islands and related supporting systems. Strengthen supervision and management, improve the system for the development and protection of marine resources, improve the coordination mechanism of marine inspection, marine supervision and marine law enforcement, and establish a supervision system that links the central and local governments and manages the entire chain before, during and after the event. Strengthen scientific and technological support, promote the development of key core technologies for the development and protection of marine resources, strengthen the layout of national scientific and technological forces such as national laboratories and key laboratories in the marine field, promote the construction and efficient operation of national marine comprehensive test sites, improve the results of the transfer and transformation of marine scientific and technological achievements, and create a number of leading enterprises with strong innovation capabilities and "specialized, refined and new" small and medium-sized enterprises. Attach importance to the promotion of marine culture, continue to promote marine knowledge "into textbooks, classrooms, and campuses" and focus on extending it to inland provinces and cities, create a marine cultural brand, and create a good atmosphere for protecting the ocean in the whole society. Improve international communication capabilities and tell the Chinese marine story well.

Author: Ministry of Natural Resources

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