Sun Shuxian, Vice Minister of the MNR, China, Delivered Remarks
Visitors from Various Countries Tour the Research Vessel Dayang
On November 8, the China-Cook Islands Joint Marine Scientific Expedition, having just completed its scientific mission, held a public Open Day event at Avatiu Port in the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, Sun Shuxian, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) of China and Administrator of the National Marine Administration, Wang Xiaolong, Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand, representatives from the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority and other relevant agencies, as well as members of the local community, totally more than one hundred people visited the research vessel Dayang. Fang Yinxia, Director-General of the Second Institute of Oceanography (SIO), MNR, and Deputy Director Fu Bin also attended the Open Day event.
At the welcome ceremony, Prime Minister Mark Brown stated that the joint scientific cooperation between the Cook Islands and China aims to strengthen the Cook Islands’ capacity in marine scientific research and ocean management. He expressed the hope that the cooperation would help the Cook Islands play a leading role in marine scientific research, ecological management and science-based decision-making. He also emphasized the importance of further expanding international collaboration so that science can guide the path of marine protection.
Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong remarked that marine cooperation is an important pillar of China-Cook Islands relations. He noted that the complementary strengths of the two sides have created new opportunities for jointly protecting and sustainably utilizing marine resources and for promoting the development of the blue economy. China is willing to take this as a starting point to strengthen practical cooperation with the Cook Islands, support its long-term development, and elevate bilateral relations to a new level.
Sun Shuxian, Vice Minister of the MNR and Administrator of the National Marine Administration, stated that this joint expedition is one of the practical and significant outcomes under the cooperation framework signed between the MNR of China and the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority. He said that in the future, China hopes to advance China–Cook Islands marine cooperation in a “deeper, more substantive and broader” manner, deepening collaboration across all fields, accelerating project implementation, expanding multilateral cooperation, and enhancing personnel exchanges and mutual trust. Furthermore, these efforts aim to build a long-term and stable blue partnership.
After the ceremony, Li Xiaohu, Chief Scientist of the China–Cook Islands Joint Expedition and researcher at SIO, together with Yang Jiangzhi, Captain of the research vessel Dayang, guided the guests on a tour of the ship. They visited the ship’s bridge, aft deck and laboratories, where they observed deep-sea research equipment such as the multibeam surveying system, towed camera system, and CTD profiler, as well as seabed mineral samples collected during the expedition. The tour allowed them to gain a close view of China’s strong capabilities in deep-sea science and its open and transparent approach to cooperation.
In the afternoon, the research vessel Dayang was opened to local residents, attracting more than one hundred visitors, including residents of the Cook Islands and tourists from Canada, New Zealand, Australia and other countries. Visitors showed great interest in China’s advanced research vessel and deep-sea exploration technologies and interacted frequently with the scientific team. In particular, many children posed various ocean-related questions to the researchers and received patient explanations, creating a lively and engaging atmosphere.
The successful completion of the China-Cook Islands joint marine scientific expedition marks that bilateral marine science and technology cooperation has entered a substantive stage. The Open Day event not only showcased the initial achievements of the joint expedition but also embodied China’s global governance philosophy of “extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits” through an open and transparent scientific event. It laid a solid foundation for broader and deeper cooperation in the future.