China's marine ecosystems generally in good condition: official

China's marine ecosystems including the coral reefs are generally in good condition now, indicating that conservationists' dedicated efforts made in recent years have yielded substantial results, a senior official said on Thursday.

China on Thursday released a white paper titled "Marine Eco-Environmental Protection in China," presenting a full picture of China's ideas, actions, and achievements in marine eco-environmental protection to the international community to facilitate understanding of China's conservation efforts and advance international cooperation in this regard.

At a press conference in Beijing, Sun Shuxian, vice minister of Natural Resources and also director of the State Oceanic Administration, briefed reporters on the efforts China has made to enhance the diversity, stability and sustainability of its marine ecosystems.

"In 2020, we completed a survey of the status quo of typical marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, and coastal salt marshes across the country, forming a basic understanding of the distribution and ecological status of these ecosystems, while identifying prominent ecological problems, major threats and risks. In June this year, we issued for the first time the Communique on Early Warning and Monitoring of China's Marine Ecology. The monitoring results showed that coral reefs, seagrass beds, coastal salt marshes and mangrove ecosystems are generally in good condition," said Sun.

He noted that China has also regularly conducted early-warning and monitoring of marine ecosystems in key areas and published early-warning reports to support the restoration work.

"The vast majority of mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds and other typical marine ecosystems have been included in the ecological protection red-line area, with strict protection implemented. Human activities that do not meet the management and control requirements or imposing serious impact on the structures and functions of ecosystems have been gradually phased out," said Sun.

"In terms of ecosystem restoration, we have actively mobilized central and local financial funds to protect and restore degraded or damaged typical marine ecosystems and help recover their services and functions," he also said.

China's marine ecosystems generally in good condition: official

A U.S. exhibitor participating in the seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai has said he would love to see an "open trade completely" between his country and China.

One of the exhibitors who have brought to the expo the most eye-catching products, the U.S. Soybean Export Council has seen its booth packed with visitors curious about its virtual reality (VR) display that offers them an immersive experience of soybean farming in the U.S.

"We leave the residue on the fields, so when it rains, it protects the soil from washing away. That's the big thing we are talking about. Sustainable ways. And not only that, but it also helps to sequestration carbon out of the air, and put back to the soil," said Ronnie Russell, director of the American Soybean Association.

Soybean trade is one of the key sectors for trade between China and the U.S., and even a barometer of the relationship between the two countries. Although it has seen a decline in recent years, the American Soybean Association still sees potential for growth, and hopes the governments from both sides could push for that trend.

"We would love to see open trade completely between both of our countries absolutely. So I think that we need to look beyond some of those trade barriers that may not be necessary agriculture related, maybe even politically related, but we certainly see the importance of that as American growers," said Russell.

Various American businesses and associations are also displaying their agricultural products,including potatoes, meat, poultry, and eggs, at the expo.

Allan Gabor, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, shared a positive outlook for future trade and cooperation in food products between the two nations.

"The future looks really good. I think our countries enjoy each other's food products. I think the whole aspect of the modernization of the supply chain for food and agriculture in China is improving tremendously. It's also an area where our companies can contribute," he said.

Running from Nov 5 to 10, this year's CIIE has attracted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions. It also sets a new record with 297 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders attending the event.

CIIE exhibitor from US hopes to see "open trade" between China, US