On June 19, 2023, the China Deep-sea and Ocean Affairs Administration held the first meeting of its expert group on international seabed resource exploration and development. Director-General Wu Changbin attended the meeting and announced the establishment of the group. The expert group consists of 12 experts spanning deep-sea resources, the environment, mining and mineral processing and metallurgy technology, law and other fields, with Li Bo, a professor-level senior engineer at the China Deep-sea and Ocean Affairs Administration, serving as its head. The group will put forward recommendations on development directions and technical roadmaps for the development and utilization of deep-sea mineral resources and deep-sea environmental monitoring.
At the meeting, members of the expert group discussed in depth the challenges and opportunities facing China’s deep-sea and ocean work, and offered views on the development of international seabed contract areas, mining technology, rules and regulations, and environmental standards and specifications.
The first meeting of the expert group was held in a combined online and in-person format, attended by the Administration’s chief engineer and officials from its resources and environment division and its planning and regulations division.
