At the first 'Blue Partnership Forum for the Oceans' on 5 September in Brussels, the European Commission and the Chinese authorities pledged to join forces to strengthen international ocean governance, the Commission announced on Tuesday 10 September.
Chinese and European stakeholders have started to define joint actions to implement the Ocean Partnership, signed in July 2018: - 'Blue economy' (more direct investment should be made to preserve sustainable oceans and ecosystems); - international cooperation on sustainable fisheries (implementation of the existing legal framework, including ratification of the Port State Measures Agreement, improvement of the performance of regional organisations, fight against illegal fishing and strengthening fisheries data transparency); - area-based management tools, including maritime spatial planning and marine protected areas (the EU called on China to support EU proposals to establish two marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean next October).
In 2020, China will host the 'Blue Partnership Forum' , as well as three high-level dialogues on oceans and fisheries, including on illegal fishing, on Law of the Sea and the Arctic. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)