On May 10, 2026, China-ASEAN Blue Economy Cooperation Dialogue, themed “Forging a Strategic Hub for the Big and Shared China-ASEAN Blue Economy Market——The Strategic Task of ‘Creating a New Maritime Hainan’”, was held in Haikou. The dialogue was jointly hosted by Hainan Institute for Free Trade Port Studies (HIFTPS), China Oceanic Development Foundation and China Foreign Affairs University, supported by China Institute for Reform and Development (CIRD), and co-organized by Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance and Hainan Reform and Development Research Foundation. Government officials, renowned scholars, representatives from enterprises, industry associations and media from 14 countries and international organizations attended the event, together with participants from 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Hainan, as well as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Wang Bin, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and Director General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee; Lv Bin, Chairman of China Oceanic Development Foundation; Gao Fei, President of China Foreign Affairs University; and Chi Fulin, President of CIRD and President of HIFTPS, delivered addresses and keynote speeches at the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was moderated by Yang Rui, Executive President of CIRD.

Wang Bin noted that Hainan was born by the sea and thrives because of the sea. As an important window for China’s opening-up to ASEAN, Hainan is leveraging its unique geographical advantages and the policy benefits of the Free Trade Port to fully support China’s maritime strategy, advance marine development, and actively participate in the growing wave of China-ASEAN economic cooperation. Wang said that first, Hainan should anchor its goal of becoming a strong maritime province and consolidate the foundation for blue economy development by leveraging the advantages of the Free Trade Port; second, it should build practical cooperation platforms and promote the implementation of blue partnerships through open platforms and carriers; third, it should seize the opportunities brought by institutional opening-up and expand new space for China-ASEAN blue economy cooperation through overlapping policy advantages; and fourth, it should strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges to build a maritime community with a shared future through enhanced mutual understanding and consensus.

Lv Bin said that Hainan’s accelerated efforts to build a free trade port with Chinese characteristics and global influence have created a unique institutional and opening-up platform, providing a valuable opportunity to break through bottlenecks constraining the integration of the China-ASEAN regional blue economy. Lv noted that China Oceanic Development Foundation will continue to promote “hard connectivity” in infrastructure by facilitating cooperation on ports and shipping routes; advance “soft connectivity” in rules and standards by deepening dialogue and mutual recognition; and strengthen industrial connectivity by accelerating project matching and implementation.

Gao Fei, President of China Foreign Affairs University, noted that amid a changing global landscape, how to overcome differences, enhance mutual trust, and achieve common development has become an urgent issue facing all Asian countries. China and ASEAN have already formed a closely interconnected relationship in which “our interests are deeply intertwined”. The key to breaking through current challenges lies in continuing to cultivate shared interests, with the blue economy serving as one of the largest areas of common interest. Gao believed that Hainan has the conditions and capabilities to become a strategic hub for China’s longstanding principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in neighborhood diplomacy, to promote blue security cooperation, and to safeguard long-term peace and stability in the South China Sea region.

Chi Fulin noted that accelerating the development of a China–ASEAN blue economy common mega market is an important lever to respond to external shocks and safeguard stable regional development, as well as a major strategic option to unlock the potential of China–ASEAN cooperation and promote deeper integration of industrial and supply chains. For Hainan Free Trade Port, which is anchored on the strategic goal of becoming an “important gateway of opening-up”, one of its key missions is to drive the construction of the China–ASEAN blue economy common mega-market.

Chi proposed that first, Hainan should build a service and support base for China–ASEAN energy security. By serving the shared needs of China–ASEAN energy security, Yangpu Economic Development Zone should be developed into a regional hub for oil and gas storage, processing, and trading, while also building a regional comprehensive service base for energy transition with a focus on renewable energy development. Second, Hainan should build an important platform for China–ASEAN blue economy industrial integration. This includes taking the lead in building a China–ASEAN fisheries industrial and supply chain, using cruise tourism as a leading driver to promote the integration of China–ASEAN marine services, and building bonded maintenance bases and export service bases with a focus on offshore engineering equipment. Third, Hainan should strengthen the strategic support for regional blue economy cooperation through integrated Hainan FTP–Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area marine economic development. This includes promoting regional integration of marine industrial and supply chains through the model of “Hainan resources + GBA industries”, jointly building a marine equipment customization center oriented toward ASEAN and serving global markets, and developing a key hub for China–ASEAN marine infrastructure connectivity.

Following the opening ceremony, two plenary sessions themed “Building a Big and Shared China-ASEAN Blue Economy Market amidst Geopolitical Shifts” were held and moderated by Peng Sen, Former President of the China Society of Economic Reform. Keynote speeches were delivered by Rokhmin Dahuri, Former Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia and Chairman of the Indonesian Aquaculture Association; Le Yucheng, Deputy Director-general of the National Radio and Television Administration, Senior International Affairs Expert; Unny Sankar Ravi Sankar, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing; Wu Shicun, Chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance; Li Mingjiang, Associate Dean (Academic Affairs) of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Rommel Banlaoi, President of the Philippine Society for International Security Studies; Li Dongyu, Director-General of the Province Oceanic Administration of Hainan; Chheng Kimlong, President of the Asian Vision Institute of Cambodia; Pitichart Chaisena, Economist Professional Level of the International Fish Trade Analysis Group, Fisheries Development Policy and Planning Division, Department of Fisheries, Thailand; and Syuhaida Ismail, Former Research Director of the Malaysia Institute of Maritime Affairs.

Two thematic dialogues were held on the afternoon of the same day. Participants engaged in discussions and exchanges on topics including “Priority Areas and Policy Innovation for China-ASEAN Maritime Industry Integration”, “China-ASEAN Maritime Infrastructure Connectivity and Regional Port Synergy”, “New Breakthroughs in Blue Economy Cooperation under the Synergy of Regional FTAs and Hainan FTP Policies”, and “Cooperation between Hainan FTP and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA in Building a Big and Shared China-ASEAN Blue Economy Market”.

On the morning of the same day, Training Seminar on Blue Economy Development Capability-building, jointly hosted by CIRD and China Oceanic Development Foundation, officially commenced at CIRD. Closely aligned with China’s national maritime development strategy and focused on the goal of “Creating a New Maritime Hainan”, the training seminar aims to deepen coordination and collaboration among coastal provinces in marine-related sectors, jointly promote the high-quality development of the marine economy, and strengthen synergy in China-ASEAN blue economy cooperation. More than 50 participants from relevant sectors attended the program, representing eight provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Hainan.