The China Coast Guard (CCG) has achieved a breakthrough in conducting multi-dimensional aerial and maritime patrols around Diaoyu Dao, signaling a significant upgrade in its comprehensive law enforcement capabilities, a Chinese maritime expert said Friday.
Yang Xiao, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Strategy Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, highlighted this development as part of the CCG's broader evolution and enhanced operational reach across the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Yellow Sea.
"This marks a highly significant advancement for the China Coast Guard in recent years. Since its initial establishment, the force has grown in scale from small vessels to larger ships, and developed land-based aviation capabilities along with the capacity to operate aircraft, like helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, from its vessels. This signifies a substantial advancement in maritime law enforcement," Yang said.
"From surface patrols to multi-dimensional, integrated maritime operations, this evolution dramatically enhances our rapid response capabilities and provides penetrating situational awareness across maritime domains. This multi-dimensional enforcement capability has greatly raised our capacity for maritime governance, law enforcement, and rescue operations by improving maritime domain awareness and enabling rapid and timely interventions," he said.
"In essence, achieving this integrated, multi-dimensional operational capability signals the China Coast Guard's entry into a new stage of maritime law enforcement. It also reflects the major progress in our objective to develop the CCG into a leading regional force for maritime governance," said the expert.
Air-sea patrols mark new stage for China Coast Guard: expert
Both Chinese and British companies expect to deepen economic and trade cooperation across sectors, following British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's call for stronger dialogue and deeper engagement between businesses and institutions in the UK and China at the opening ceremony of the UK-China Business Forum in Beijing.
Starmer pointed to what he described as "real progress" during his visit to China from Wednesday to Saturday, citing China's decision to cut tariffs on Scotch whisky. He also urged guests to strengthen exchanges and turn dialogue into practical cooperation.
The forum was co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the British government. It brought together more than 300 guests, including over 60 business and cultural delegates across different sectors accompanying the UK Prime Minister. Healthcare and pharmaceuticals were among the key focuses.
According to Wang Xingli, co-president of Fosun Pharma, China-UK cooperation in healthcare is moving beyond market access, toward cooperation across research, clinical development and manufacturing.
"With their science, our productivity, our technology know-how, as well as AI capabilities, I think we can produce big blockbuster drug together," said Wang.
Financial cooperation also featured prominently.
As a long-established global financial center, the UK plays a key role in international banking and capital markets, while China is expanding its cross-border financial services to support trade and investment with the world.
"We've already seen that London has become the biggest hub for RMB clearing offshore from China. The volumes today are tremendous, about 350 billion RMB's worth of trading and clearing that's going on through London," said Tim Skeet, chief institutional relationship officer at the London Branch of the Bank of China.
"All the major Chinese banks are represented in London, and similarly, most of the UK banks have a presence in China. So there's that cooperation between the two centers is very important for the mutuality of interest that we share in terms of the financing of trade, the financing of investment," said Brendan Nelson, group chairman of HSBC.
Chinese, British companies see great potential for cooperation in various sectors
