China and Vietnam reaffirmed their commitment to marine ecological preservation Saturday by releasing approximately 75 million juvenile aquatic creatures into the Beibu Gulf, marking the eighth such collaborative effort since 2017.
The initiative, which has introduced over 350 million specimens into shared waters, helps to restore marine ecosystems, while boosting the livelihoods of coastal communities on both sides.
This year's event was held at the Beilun River estuary in Dongxing City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Saturday, where representatives from China and Vietnam came together to release a large number of aquatic species into the Beibu Gulf.
"This year, we released a total of 10 species, including five types of fish such as red sea bream, blackhead sea bream, and yellowfin seabream, along with two types of shrimp, one species of crab, and the Chinese horseshoe crab. Altogether, around 75 million aquatic juveniles were released," said Wu Qia'er, deputy director of the South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute. Some of the specimens were labeled, which can help researchers track the fishes' journeys, monitor their survival, and study how well they adapt after being released.
"According to our data, the recapture rate of species we previously released has remained above five percent, with shrimp species reaching between 15.4 percent and 39 percent," Wu said.
Official data also shows a clear rise in the catch of high-quality aquatic products along the gulf. Local fisherman Huang Xiaojun has experienced it firsthand.
"Since the program began, our income has gone up noticeably, as there are more fish in the water, and a wider variety too, even species we were unable to catch are now within reach," Huang said.
During Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam in April, the two countries issued a joint communique, agreeing to fast-track the signing of a Beibu Gulf fisheries cooperation agreement, and expand efforts on resource enhancement and conservation in the region.
"We still have a lot of potential to cooperate together to have better understanding and also better management of the natural resources. Also, we can find different ways to better livelihoods for the fisherman. For example, we can together research and develop aquaculture, marine culture, so we can reduce the fishing pressure in the region," said Nguyen Khac Bat, director of the Research Institute for Marine Fisheries of Vietnam.
Together, beneath the waves, the quiet partnership between the two neighbors is nurturing a more sustainable future for the region, its people, and the sea they depend on.
China, Vietnam strengthen marine conservation through joint fish stocking initiative
China's commitment to its path of opening up will continue as a long-term national strategy and should increasingly be defined by inclusiveness, a national political advisor said Friday.
Zhou Hanmin, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, made the remarks in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) during the annual political "two sessions" underway in Beijing.
"Opening-up is and has been a long-term national policy and a strategy ever since China opened itself up (to the world) some 48 years ago. Ever since China joined WTO (World Trade Organization), you could see it has fundamentally changed the formats of economic movements. So opening-up is a reference and also a driving force," he said.
Zhou stressed China must also invite less privileged nations to share in the prosperity of a more open world.
"Inclusiveness is one word that should be used to modify China's opening-up. I (previously) submitted a bill in CPPCC for the zero tariff for those least developed nations' exportation to China. Because for each and every China International Import Expo, you can see quite a large number of exhibitors coming from the least developed countries. We need to give them very genuine help. We are just in the situation of that. We just try to do not only with developed nations, but the Global South and rest of the countries, all together," he said.
Zhou's comments come amid the ongoing "two sessions", the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC. Both bodies serve a five-year term and hold a plenary session each year, generally in March.
The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively. A main focus is the adoption of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a key blueprint guiding China's drive toward modernization. When asked about key signals from the plan that the international community should closely watch, Zhou outlined several key issues.
"We are now carrying on this Five-Year Plan in the most crucial period of time. We are going to generally modernize the country (in) another 10 years. In this five-year period of time, we need to focus more on creation. Creation not necessarily in the field of technology. Creation means the modernization of the governance, create lots of new things in the system and methods of governance. This is also important," Zhou said.
"The modernization of industrial systems, the further expansion of the ability of consumption, and we try to know very well the longevity, whatever solves people's daily needs. The last but not least, we try to understand fully international collaboration. Opening-up is still a driving force," he said.
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
