On October 30, the International Deep-Sea Science and Technology Conference and 2024 annual meeting of the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA), a major event of the 2024 China Marine Economy Expo, opened in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. At the opening ceremony it was announced that Shanghai Jiao Tong University will lead preparations to establish a Deep-Sea Development Technology Branch of COMRA.
Weng Zhenping, deputy director of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University council and executive dean of the Marine Equipment Research Institute, attended the opening ceremony and took part in the launch ceremony marking the formal establishment of the Deep-Sea Development Technology Branch. The branch’s establishment marks a solid step for China in the field of deep-sea development technology and will help advance the exploration and development of China’s deep-sea resources.
On October 31, the 2024 China Marine Economy Expo opened under the theme of open cooperation and shared benefits. The university’s Changxing Marine Laboratory, exhibiting as part of the Shanghai marine economy innovation and development demonstration zone, presented a range of independently developed frontier research achievements. Sun Shuxian, member of the party group and vice minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and administrator of the State Oceanic Administration, toured the Shanghai demonstration zone exhibit and heard presentations.
On the expo’s first day, the Changxing Marine Laboratory exhibit drew heavy traffic. The major research achievements on display included a floating research facility for all-weather long-term stationing in the deep and open sea, the Kaituo 2 (Pioneer 2) deep-sea mining vehicle, an unmanned production line for small ship block assembly, a nine-degree-of-freedom wave-compensated gangway, and green antifouling coatings based on main-chain-degradable self-polishing polymers.
At the expo, the exhibition team discussed hot topics in marine fields with industry experts, exploring future cooperation opportunities in research innovation and commercialization of results, promoting efficient, in-depth matchmaking among industry, academia, research and end users, and advancing the development of new quality productive forces in the marine economy.
This year’s expo comprised exhibitions, forums and side events. The exhibition covered a total area of 95,000 square meters, with more than 400 key enterprises, institutions and organizations from the marine sector in China and abroad taking part. During the expo, a macro forum and global ocean center cities forum, academic conferences and a series of professional forums were held, where experts, scholars and representatives from China and abroad exchanged views on deep-sea technology, shipping, marine ecological civilization, ocean cooperation and governance and other topics, contributing ideas for global marine economic development and the cultivation of new blue productive forces. The expo also hosted investment promotion, talent exchange, technology sharing, cooperation signing, financing matchmaking and unveiling ceremonies, building bridges between marine enterprises and universities, research institutions and investors.
