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On September 26, 2018, a delegation of four members of the European Commission visited the National Oceanographic Information Center to discuss cooperation in the field of marine data between the EU Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Department and the National Ocean Information Center. The delegation is headed by Iain Shepherd, Senior Expert of the European Union Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Its members include Alessandra Lamotte, Policy Officer of the EU Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Directorate, and Niall Leonard, First Secretary of Ocean Affairs and Fisheries of the European Union Delegation to China, and the Environment. Ocean and Fisheries Policy Officer Dong Xiaolei. Xiang Wenxi, deputy director of the National Ocean Information Center, attended the meeting.
Xiang Wenxi expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the EU Directorate General for Ocean Affairs and Fisheries for their efforts in promoting China-EU cooperation in marine data. He pointed out that both China and the EU attach great importance to the integration and processing of marine data and actively provide reliable and high-quality marine data services for scientific research, environmental protection and social public services. The EU has a lot of valuable experience in ocean observation, ocean management, marine protection and marine data sharing. The information center has carried out a lot of work in the fields of ocean data analysis and processing, sea level rise and global climate change research, marine space planning, blue economy, marine ecological environment protection, etc., providing effective information service guarantee and technical support for relevant national fields. Both sides have a lot in common. The establishment of cooperation between the National Oceanographic Information Center and the European Union Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in the field of marine data is not only an important measure to achieve the results of the China-EU Blue Ocean Year, but also conforms to the new plans and requirements made by the China-EU Blue Partnership Declaration on China-EU cooperation in the marine sector.
Iain Shepherd thanked the NMDIS for successfully organizing the meeting. He pointed out that with the signing of the CN-EU Blue Partnership Declaration in July this year, the EU and China's maritime relations have taken new steps. The CN-EU Blue Partnership covers areas such as ocean governance, the blue economy and fisheries, and proposes partnership development through cross-cutting tools including open science, open data, and spatial planning. Open and reliable ocean data is the key to ensuring global sustainable ocean governance. The EU Directorate General for Marine Affairs and Fisheries is willing to work with the NMDIS to optimize marine data resources, promote ocean data sharing, and enhance marine data management and information technology. We will carry out pragmatic cooperation in other fields.
During the talks, the two sides introduced the functions of their respective units, carried out the main work and achieved results. Dr. Iain highlighted the European Ocean Observations and Data Network (EMODnet). The NMDIS introduced China's progress in centralized management of marine data information resources, marine data collection and processing and quality control, marine information product development and marine big data technology and applied research.
The two sides held discussions on areas of common interest and reached further consensus on cooperation in key areas such as marine data sharing, blue economy, marine plastics and micro-plastics standards, marine spatial planning, sea level rise, and ocean reanalysis. Next, the two sides will further communicate and implement specific cooperation issues, and strive to promote the results of cooperation into the list of China-EU Blue Partnership Cooperation results. The two sides also reached a good cooperation vision on strengthening technical and personnel exchanges.