China will rally behind global efforts to promote growth of blue economy in line with sustainable development agenda, said a Chinese government official on Monday.
Xu Jinghu, special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs told the sustainable blue economy conference under way in Nairobi that Beijing has supported global efforts to boost growth of blue economy through improved governance and sharing of knowledge and expertise to strengthen conservation of marine ecosystem.
"China calls for a blue economy partnership and the resolution of ocean issues through cooperation," said Xu.
Kenya is hosting the first ever blue economy conference to take place in Africa that has drawn more than 10,000 participants from 183 countries.
More than ten Heads of State and Government mainly drawn from Africa, representatives of multilateral agencies, industry executives, ministers, scientists and grassroots campaigners are attending the three-day conference.
Xu said that blue economy has become an integral component of sustainability agenda hence the need for key stakeholders to pay enough attention to the sector.
"Blue economy is part and parcel to the development of ocean countries and has already become a new engine of the global economy," Xu remarked, adding that prudent use of marine resources is key to achieve the UN 2030 goals and the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063.
The envoy said that China has supported global efforts to boost growth of blue economy through improved governance and sharing of knowledge and expertise to strengthen conservation of marine ecosystem.
"At the same time, in jointly building the Belt and Road, China will work for greater complementarity in ocean economy strategies and industries among countries, share our experience in the development of ocean economy, actively explore bilateral and multilateral cooperation ranging from marine resources development and protection, mariculture, fishery and marine tourism," said Xu.
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in Beijing in early September also adopted an initiative that covers blue economy cooperation between China and Africa.
Xu said that China is ready to offer technical and financial support that is required to spur growth of blue economy in Africa and other developing countries.
