Visitors at the 2023 China Marine Economy Expo. (Photo/Xinhua)
Foreign diplomats in China have spoken highly of the 2023 China Marine Economy Expo (CMEE) and look forward to more cooperation between China and their countries to ride the wave of the blue economy.
CMEE, along with the 2023 Shenzhen International Marine Week, opened Thursday. The expo and the marine week will run until Saturday and Monday, respectively.
“I find it quite impressive. I’ve never been to this expo before. It’s interesting to see the dynamic and prosperous modern economy in Shenzhen,” Thorir Ibsen, ambassador of Iceland to China, told Shenzhen Daily in a visit to the expo at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian District on Thursday.
“One of the reasons that I’m visiting this year is to see the possibility of cooperation in the future,” the Icelandic ambassador said.
According to Ibsen, China is Iceland’s largest export market in Asia for fish. In addition to some shipping activities on China’s east coast, Iceland is also an exporter of fish processing technologies.
“We are looking at here whether that fits into Shenzhen. I can see there is a growing interest in the food sector,” Ibsen said.
Signe Brudeset, ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to China and Mongolia, said she was very pleased to visit Shenzhen again and had the opportunity to take part in CMEE for Norway.
“This is a very important venue. We have several Norwegian companies who are attending, and they all tell me that CMEE is a very useful venue for them to take part in,” Brudeset said.
According to Brudeset, the fact that Norway and China both are ocean countries has brought the two nations together in terms of ocean-related sectors and activities, such as maritime technology, the transition to a green economy, and offshore wind.
“When it comes to Shenzhen, we also have some cooperation in environmental protection. For example, Guangdong Province has some very important mangrove forests. Norway also has cooperation with Guangdong and Shenzhen on these issues,” the Norwegian ambassador said.
This year, CMEE has set up two exhibition areas offline, with a record-breaking exhibition area of 112,500 square meters. A record high of 658 key global enterprises, institutions, and organizations involved in maritime affairs have participated in the expo.
Meanwhile, the number of overseas exhibitors has surpassed 100 for the first time at the expo, which gathers international exhibition groups from countries including the U.S, Russia, Canada, Italy, Finland, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Germany, Spain, and Ukraine.
Since 2019, CMEE has seen the release of over 1,000 new technologies and products, attracting approximately 1,500 global exhibitors and 750 distinguished guests from more than 20 countries and regions to deliver speeches.
