Arya News - China unveiled a new “marine carbon sink” law enforcement model at the 22nd Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting in Hangzhou, shifting from punishment-focused maritime policing to a framework that holds polluters accountable for ecological restoration.
HANGZHOU – China is ready to strengthen cooperation with all sides to jointly protect “our blue home” and build a brighter shared future for the maritime community, a senior official said on Tuesday.
He Guangshun, chief engineer at the Ministry of Natural Resources, made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the high-level meeting of the 22nd Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province.
Outlining the nation’s progress in the maritime sector, He said that China has launched a pilot program in recent years to identify marine carbon sinks and assign monetary value to the carbon captured by coastal ecosystems, including its expanding mangrove forests, seagrass beds and seaweed farms.
Marine carbon sinks refer to coastal and deep-ocean environments that absorb and store atmospheric carbon dioxide within their biomass and underlying sediments.
The senior official emphasized China’s commitment to protecting the marine environment through its participation in relevant international treaties and frameworks, and called for coordinated action to address rising sea levels and biodiversity loss.
Noting that China has signed cooperation agreements with over 50 countries and international organizations and has launched more than 100 related projects, He called on other Asian coast guard agencies to help safeguard their shared “blue home”.
During the meeting, the China Coast Guard presented its new marine carbon sink law enforcement model. The framework requires maritime polluters to remedy ecological damage and restore the ocean’s carbon sequestration capacity, marking a shift from a traditional punishment-focused approach to maritime supervision.
Following the opening ceremony, a 90-minute special session featuring academic presentations elaborated on the new enforcement model.
Zhao Yingfei, a China Coast Guard law enforcement officer who moderated the session, said on the sidelines of the meeting that the agency is moving beyond punishment-focused maritime policing to fully implement the new model. She said that the framework leverages legal measures to quantify ecological harm from maritime violations and mandate targeted ecological restoration by responsible parties.
Domestically, the mechanism safeguards China’s marine ecological environment and advances sustainable growth for maritime industries, Zhao said, adding that internationally, it marks China’s proactive contribution to global ocean governance.
The China Coast Guard plans to fully embed the updated enforcement approach into all front-line maritime operations.
Wang Kaiqiang, deputy director of the China Coast Guard, said that the high-level meeting served as a key platform to showcase the carbon sink law enforcement model as a benchmark for modern ocean governance worldwide.
“We must adopt a holistic approach that addresses both the symptoms and root causes of maritime risks,” Wang said, calling for closer practical cooperation to build a tighter maritime community with a shared future.
The agenda for this year’s meeting included crackdown on illegal maritime activities, search-and-rescue operations, marine ecological protection, information sharing, joint drills and capacity building.
Apart from the special session on maritime carbon sink law enforcement, the meeting also featured a dedicated session on the Global Security Initiative, designed to strengthen regional ocean governance and address common maritime challenges.
Liu Zhixu, head of the China Coast Guard law enforcement department’s international cooperation division, said that the special briefing aimed to advance the vision of a “maritime community with a shared future” and to share practical experience in balancing maritime security and ecological protection.
Liu noted that the innovative meeting arrangements reflected China’s foresight and exemplary role in “blue governance”, establishing the country as a forward-thinking partner in regional maritime cooperation.
The organizers said that the high-level meeting had brought together delegates from 23 countries and regions, as well as two international organizations.
This year marked China’s first time organizing the high-level meeting, following its chairing of the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum last year.