CPAFFC Vice-President Yan Dong attends 2nd assembly of 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee and Smart Ocean Forum

Lyu Yanxia

O n May 17， Vice-President Yan Dong of the CPAFFC attended the Second General Assembly of the 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee and the Smart Ocean Forum and delivered a speech. Also attending were the mayor of Fuzhou， Wu Xiande； United Cities and Local Governments Secretary-General Emilia Saiz； the president of UCLG ASPAC， Ashok Kumar Byanju Shrestha； UCLG ASPAC Secretary-General Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi； and Myanmar’s Ambassador to China U Myo Thant Pe.

Yan of the CPAFFC said current times are characterized by a mixed impact of changes unseen in a century and the ravages of COVID-19. The new round of the sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation are bringing even more fierce competition. Human society is facing the unprecedented impact of climate change， marine pollution and other global problems.

Following President Xi Jinping’s idea of building closer partnerships along routes of the Belt and Road Initiative， China has been promoting the concept of green development and practicing a global governance philosophy featuring extensive consultation， concerted contribution and shared benefits. With “hard connectivity” as the direction， “soft connectivity” as the support and “heart connectivity” as the link， high-quality BRI cooperation has been promoted with tangible results， contributing to global development.

Yan said the CPAFFC and Fuzhou would continue to give full play to the 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee’s role as a bridge， explore more channels of foreign exchange， seek out more maritime cooperation and new routes for maritime development to inject momentum into the BRI.

U Myo Thant Pe said the BRI， which was proposed by President Xi in 2013 for building the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， was of vital importance in promoting international stability， maritime cooperation and sustainable marine development. Since its inception five years ago， the 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee has served as an important platform for connecting cities and local governments in areas reached by the BRI. It facilitates exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between countries in the Asia-Pacific area， especially ASEAN countries and China， in the fields of maritime economy， environmental protection and tourism.

He said Myanmar looks forward to more efficient cooperation with member cities of the 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee， Chinese cities and others in the AsiaPacific area so that concerted efforts can be made to promote sustainable and efficient development of the ocean economy.

Saiz delivered an online speech in New York to address the opening ceremony. She said that the UCLG was going to appeal at the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference for more global attention given to maritime development and governance and call for following the successful experience of ASPAC members of UCLG to ensure more consensus on marine ecology and commercial development to achieve innovative breakthroughs.

The conference was cohosted by the CPAFFC， Fuzhou municipal government and 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee online and offline. More than 120 people attended the opening ceremony， including representatives from UCLG， the World Association of Major Metropolises， representatives and counselors of member agencies of the 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee in China and abroad， representatives from the China Center for Contemporary World Studies， officials from UNESCO and other international organizations， diplomatic envoys from 22 countries， experts， scholars and enterprisers from home and abroad.

After the opening ceremony， participants shared their insights in the forum on smart oceans. Eight guests delivered keynote speeches in which they shared information and discussed ways to achieve greater development.