Key points
- The launch ceremony and first BRICS seminar on deep-sea resources were held on April 24 in Hangzhou under the guidance of China’s science, natural resources and science-foundation bodies.
- More than 300 representatives from 9 countries and international organisations, including Russia, Brazil and South Africa, attended.
- The center will focus on deep-sea minerals, oil and gas, cold seeps, environmental governance, energy and equipment technology through joint research and cruises; CRIMM attended as a co-building institution.
On April 24, the launch ceremony of the BRICS International Research Center for Deep-Sea Resources (the “BRICS Deep-Sea Center”), together with the first BRICS Seminar on Deep-Sea Resources and Environmental Sustainable Development, was held in Hangzhou. The center is being built under the joint guidance of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Its launch marks a key step in cooperation among BRICS countries in deep-sea science and technology innovation and adds new momentum to global ocean governance.
At the launch ceremony, Chen Jiachang, vice minister of Science and Technology, Sun Shuxian, vice minister of Natural Resources, Xu Wenguang, executive vice governor of Zhejiang Province, Amr Zakaria Hamouda, vice chair of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and Jose Dallo Moros, an official of the International Seabed Authority, were among the Chinese and international guests witnessing the occasion. More than 300 representatives from 9 countries and international organizations, including Russia, Brazil, and South Africa, attended, along with Chinese Academy of Sciences academicians Su Jilan and Yang Shufeng and Chinese Academy of Engineering academicians Jin Xianglong, Pan Delu, Hou Baorong, Zhou Shouwei, Zhang Si, and Chen Jun. Zhuo Xiaojun, Party secretary and chairman of the Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CRIMM), attended as a representative of the center’s co-building institutions.
The BRICS Deep-Sea Center will focus on issues of global common concern in key areas including deep-sea minerals, oil and gas, cold seeps, environmental governance, energy utilization, and equipment technology development, pooling the research strengths of BRICS countries to provide strategic advice and solutions on major sustainable development questions. Through joint research, joint cruises, shared platform construction, technology transfer, and talent training, the center aims to become an open international cooperation platform and raise the influence of BRICS countries in global ocean governance.
At the accompanying first seminar, Li Maolin, director of the State Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development and chief technology expert of China Minmetals, delivered a keynote report titled “Progress and International Cooperation in Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development and Environmental Protection,” presenting China’s advances in environmental protection technology for deep-sea mining.
