Xi's proposal on building maritime community with shared future receives recognition

BEIJING -- The world marks the 13th World Oceans Day on Tuesday. Chinese President Xi Jinping has, on various occasions, called for strengthening cooperation in protecting the oceans, and his proposal of building a maritime community with a shared future has gained worldwide resonance.

Oceans are of great significance to the survival and development of humanity as they breed life, connect the world and promote development, Xi said on April 23, 2019, when he met with the heads of foreign delegations invited to multinational naval events marking the 70th founding anniversary of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.

In his remarks, Xi called for joint efforts to address common threats and challenges at sea, and safeguard maritime peace and tranquility.

"The blue planet humans inhabit is not divided into islands by the oceans, but is connected by the oceans to form a community with a shared future, where people of all countries share weal and woe," Xi said.

At present, ocean-based cooperation in market, technology, information, culture, and other areas is steadily deepening, Xi said, noting that the reason for China to propose jointly building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is to facilitate maritime connectivity, pragmatic cooperation in various fields, and the development of the "blue economy," as well as to promote the integration of maritime cultures and to improve maritime wellbeing.

Maritime peace and tranquility, Xi said, concern the security and interests of all countries and need to be jointly maintained and cherished.

"The peace-loving Chinese people long for peace and will unswervingly stay on the path of peaceful development," he said.

China pays great attention to the building of marine ecological civilization, persistently intensifies the prevention and treatment of marine pollution, protects marine biodiversity and orderly exploits the marine resources in order to leave a blue sky and clean ocean for future generations, he said.

Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan researcher of international relations, said that China is making a very meaningful contribution to Africa's quest for peace and security in the maritime sector.

China is fulfilling its proposals and commitments by repelling pirates off the coast of Somalia, and leveraging existing continental frameworks such as the African Union to counterterrorism in the continent, said the expert.

Meanwhile, healthcare provision by Chinese naval hospital ship to many countries around the world and African in particular, further exemplifies the decision by China to go beyond maritime security into softer yet complementary aspects such as human security through healthcare services, Adhere said.

The Port of Piraeus in Greece is part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and contributes to organic interconnectivity across the world, George Tzogopoulos, director of EU-China programmes and senior research fellow at the International Center for European Studies, told Xinhua.

China's vision about maritime development goes beyond this kind of connectivity into issues of cardinal significance that require international cooperation under the UN framework, which include regional peace, biodiversity, environmental protection, preservation of natural resources and safe transportation, the expert said.