International marine experts highlighted China's leading role in advancing global high seas governance and protection.
Experts from China, Southeast Asia and Europe gathered on Sunday to discuss international cooperation in marine biodiversity conservation in Sanya City in south China's Hainan Province.
The event was held on the sidelines of the Seventh Forum on Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, co-hosted by the China Media Group, the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, and the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.
A key focus of the event was "The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction" (BBNJ Agreement), a UN treaty aimed at protecting marine biodiversity in international waters, which entered into force on January 17, 2026.
"After decades of marine ecological conservation and restoration, China has built a solid foundation of experience, technology, laws, and regulations. This puts China in a strong position to draw on its experience and actively participate in shaping international governance rules for the high seas," said Yu Xingguang, a research fellow of the Third Institute of Oceanography under the Ministry of Natural Resources.
China is one of the first countries to sign the BBNJ Agreement and one of the first signatories to the Agreement. It has consistently made its scientific research platforms and findings accessible to the international community and has submitted a bid to host the Agreement's secretariat in Xiamen, a city in southeastern China's Fujian Province.
"China's already playing a leadership role in training, in sharing information and knowledges, sharing the best practices. That is already a sign of leadership and willingness, willingness to lead and willingness to share and to train, so that it all falls nicely under the BBNJ Agreement under the clearing-house mechanism," said Aileen Tan Shau Hwai, the chairperson of the UNESCO-IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific.
A report titled "Report on Southeast Asian Youth Perceptions of Maritime Issues" was also officially released at the event.
Focusing on individuals aged 18 to 35 in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, the report sheds light on the concerns and expectations of the region's youth regarding maritime issues.
Experts highlight China's role in ocean governance
Offshore wind power is helping south China's Guangdong Province build an ever-wider green energy industry, a transformation that is reshaping the province's own economy while supporting the clean energy ambitions of the wider Asia-Pacific.
Guangdong has been expanding its offshore wind capacity at a rapid pace, with installed capacity exceeding 13 gigawatts by the end of 2025, the largest total of any Chinese province.
Much of that growth is concentrated in Yangjiang, a coastal city that has grown into one of the country's major offshore wind power hubs, where a single project counts 233 turbines, as one worker at a local wind farm noted.
The city is also home to China's only national offshore wind turbine testing platform, the China General Certification (CGC) Guangdong Wind Power Test Center, which was established in 2018 and ranks among the world's largest facilities for full-scale blade testing, assessing the quality and reliability of the equipment used across the industry.
"The longest blade we have tested so far is 147 meters. China is taking the lead in most large blade tests at present. China is participating in formulating new testing methods and standards," said Lin Xianshen, deputy director of laboratory of CGC Guangdong Wind Power Test Center Limited.
For the companies operating the turbines off its coast, Yangjiang's rise has been written into a steady multiplication of projects dotting the sea.
"By the end of 2025, Yangjiang's total installed capacity reached 24 million kilowatts. It is the prefecture-level city with the largest installed wind power capacity in Guangdong Province," said Li Xiang, chairperson of Guangdong Huadian Fuxin Yangjiang Offshore Wind Power Company.
Along Guangdong's coastline, wind farms, equipment makers, component suppliers and testing facilities are increasingly coming together, weaving an integrated supply chain for green energy.
Chinese manufacturers now account for more than two-thirds of global wind turbine production, and by the end of 2024, half of the country's cumulative wind turbine exports had gone to the Asia-Pacific region.
As demand for green electricity grows across Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies, a service center in Shenzhen City in Guangdong is helping export-oriented companies obtain internationally recognized green electricity certification.
The center is China's first government-authorized service center for green electricity and green certificates, designed to connect Chinese businesses with new energy markets across the wider region.
"Export-oriented businesses need to engage in international supply chain and industrial chain cooperation. They make up 40 percent of the customer base," said Tan Kun, deputy general manager of the marketing and customer service of Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau under China Southern Power Grid.
From offshore wind farms and advanced manufacturing to green electricity services, Guangdong's expanding green industry cluster is lending its weight to a cleaner industrial future in the Asia-Pacific.
South China’s offshore wind industry powers Asia-Pacific's green future
