Experts propose plan to enhance deep-sea research cooperation

Chinese scientists have put forward an ambitious plan at a two-day forum in Qingdao, Shandong province, aimed at boosting the country's deep-sea research.

The plan, dubbed the "Indo-Pacific Scientific Initiative", will also work to enhance cooperation with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

More than 200 scholars and experts, including academics from some 40 universities, colleges and research institutions, participated in the forum, which ended on Tuesday.

The event was hosted by the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, the first laboratory of its kind in China.

Wu Lixin, director of the laboratory's executive committee, said the Indo-Pacific Scientific Initiative aims to bring scientists working on terrestrial and oceanic studies together so that they can collaboratively innovate solutions to major earth science issues in the Indo-Pacific region.

He emphasized that the initiative is open and shared, saying it encourages Chinese scientists to cooperate with their peers from elsewhere to benefit the whole world.

It also provides a scientific basis for China's future deep-sea drilling practices, added Wu, who is also an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Zhu Rixiang, another academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said a holistic approach to research must consider both the land and ocean as a whole and connected.

"With the Indo-Pacific Scientific Initiative, Chinese scientists should take the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative and contribute more to global geological studies," Zhu said.