It is constantly strengthening comprehensive marine management, steadily improving its marine-related laws, and actively developing science, technology and education pertaining to the oceans. China has made positive contributions to international ocean development and protection by participating positively in UN marine affairs, promoting cooperation between countries and regions and conscientiously carrying out its obligations in this field.

China has a population of more than 1.2 billion, and its land natural resources per capita are lower than the world's average. Official statistics show that China has a land area of 9.6 million sq km, making it the third-biggest country in the world. However, the land area per capita is only 0.008 sq km, much lower than the world's average of 0.3 sq km per capita. In recent years China's average annual amount of freshwater resources has been 2,800 billion cu m, ranking sixth in the world; but the amount of freshwater resources per capita is only one fourth of the world's average. China is rich in land mineral resources, but the amount per capita is less than half the figure per capita worldwide. As a major developing country with a long coastline, China, therefore, must take exploitation and protection of the ocean as a long-term strategic task before it can achieve the sustainable development of its national economy.

China boasts a mainland coastline of more than 18,000 km. There are more than 5,000 islands in China's territorial waters, each with an area of more than 500 sq m, and the islands' coastlines total more than 14,000 km. China also exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the vast continental shelves and exclusive economic zones, as defined by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Located in medium and low latitudes, China's sea areas have comparatively advantageous natural environmental and resource conditions.

Some 20,278 species of sea creatures have been verified there. The fishing grounds that have been developed in China's sea areas cover 818,000 square nautical miles. The shallow seas and tidelands have a total area of 13.33 million ha, of which 2.6 million ha of water surface are suitable for the raising of aquatic products in terms of the current scientific level. So far, 938,000 ha are being utilized for this purpose. Scattered in these offshore waters are more than 30 sedimentation basins, with a total area of nearly 700,000 sq km. It is estimated that there are about 25 billion tons of oil resources and 8.4 trillion cu m of natural gas in these basins. More than 160 bays are spread along China's coasts, plus the deep-water stretches of coast with a total length of several hundred kilometers. Many spots along the coastline are suitable for constructing harbors and developing marine transportation. There are more than 1,500 tourists, scenic and recreational spots favorable for developing marine tourism. In addition, China's offshore areas abound in seawater resources and redeemable marine energy resources.
The China Ocean Agenda 21 formulated by China in 1996 put forward a sustainable development strategy for China's marine programs. The basic ideas of this strategy are as follows: To effectively safeguard the state's marine rights and interests, rationally develop and utilize marine resources, give positive protection to the marine eco-environment and realize the sustainable utilization of marine resources and the marine environment as well as the coordinated development of the work in this field. In this regard China abides by the following basic policies and principles: Safeguarding the new international marine order and the state's marine rights and interests. In February 1992 the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China adopted the Law of the People's Republic of China on Its Territorial Seas and Adjacent Zones. As China's important law in this particular field, it provides a legal basis for the country to exercise sovereignty over its territorial seas and jurisdiction over the adjacent zones and safeguard the state's safety and marine rights and interests. To uphold the new international marine legal system and the state's marine rights and interests, the NPC Standing Committee approved the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in May 1996, and solemnly stated: "In accordance with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the People's Republic of China enjoys sovereignty and jurisdiction over the continental shelves up to 200 nautical miles off its coasts. Together with the countries with opposite coasts or its neighboring countries, China shall, through consultation and on the basis of international laws and the principle of fairness, fix the dividing lines of each country's marine jurisdiction. China has sovereignty over all archipelagoes and islands listed in the Law of the People's Republic of China on Its Territorial Seas and Adjacent Zones. Regarding disputes over marine issues between China and its neighboring countries, the Chinese government shall, in view of the vital interests bearing on peace and development, stand for their settlement through friendly consultation. With regard to issues that cannot be solved for the time being, China stands for pigeonholing them and for strengthened cooperation and joint development.
In sea transportation development, China will strengthen the comprehensive development and administration of its coastal zones, rationally develop and protect the offshore areas, actively participate in the development and utilization of international sea beds and oceans, and exploit the coastal land and sea areas in a unified way in order to gradually form coastal economic belts and marine economic zones, thus making the coastal areas more prosperous and developed.
Rationally utilizing marine resources and promoting the coordinated development of the marine industries. China adopts the policy of placing equal stress on development and protection, to guarantee the sustainable utilization of marine resources. It will comprehensively develop and utilize its marine resources, continue to explore the oceans for new resources, make use of new technologies, and form and develop new marine industries to promote the sustained, rapid and healthy development of the marine economy.

Simultaneously planning and implementing the development of marine resources and the protection of the marine environment. China will work out a program for the coordinated development of marine resources and the protection of the marine eco-environment and, in line with the principles of "putting prevention first, combining prevention with control" and "making the causer of pollution responsible for treating it," improve the monitoring, surveillance, law enforcement and management of the marine environment.

Stress will be laid on strengthening the control of land-sourced pollutants and implementing the system for controlling the total quantity of pollutants, in order to prevent the marine environment degenerating. On Reinforcing oceanographic technology research and development. China will pay attention to basic research and marshal all necessary forces to tackle key oceanographic problems, develop marine high-techs, and constantly improve the technological levels of marine development and services. It will speed up the promotion and utilization of advanced and applicable technologies, and consistently narrow the differences between the regions in terms of the technological level of marine development. Furthermore, the discipline of oceanography will be further emphasized in institutions of higher learning, including vocational education, and oceanographic personnel of various levels will be trained. At the same time, oceanographic knowledge will be spread among the general public.
China will continue to improve its marine function zoning and planning and strengthen the scientific management of marine development and protection, as well as the utilization of sea areas. Experiments in the comprehensive management of the coastal zones will be actively carried out, and a comprehensive control system will be gradually put in place.
On international cooperation in the field of marine development. China will conscientiously fulfill the obligations defined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, actively take part in international marine affairs, promote international and regional cooperation and exchanges related to oceanic matters, and contribute its full share to the prosperity and development of the world's work in this field.
In 1982 the Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, a basic law of the country to protect the marine environment, was approved by the NPC Standing Committee to prevent damage to the marine environment resulting from coastal construction projects, offshore oil exploration and exploitation, navigation of ships, wastes dumping, and discharge of land-sourced pollutants. Later, several concrete regulations were issued by the Chinese government, such as the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution Caused by Ships, Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Environmental Protection and Control Pertaining to Offshore Oil Exploration and Exploitation, Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Control of the Marine Dumping of Wastes, Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution from Ship breaking, Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment from Land-Sourced Pollutants, and Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Pollution Damage to the Marine Environment from Coastal Construction Projects. In addition, a dozen rules and standards were enacted concerning marine environmental protection by government departments. All of these laws, regulations and rules have formed a legal framework for marine environmental protection. Besides, programs and plans for marine environmental protection, professional plans for the protection of wetlands and biological diversity, an overall marine monitoring network and a near shore environmental monitoring network have also been put in place by related state organizations.
In recent years, an administration system for marine environmental protection has been gradually set up: State environmental protection departments are in charge of marine environmental protection for the whole country; state marine administrations are responsible for the organization of survey, monitoring and surveillance of the marine environment, the conduct of scientific research and the prevention of pollution damage to the marine environment resulting from offshore oil exploration and exploitation and the dumping of wastes at sea; state harbor administrations are responsible for the supervision, investigation and disposal of pollutant discharge by ships, the surveillance of harbor waters and the prevention of pollution damage to the marine environment caused by vessels; state fishing port administrations are responsible for the supervision of pollutant discharge by fishing boats and the surveillance of fishing grounds; environmental protection organs of the armed forces are responsible for the supervision of pollutant discharge by military vessels and surveillance of naval port waters; and environmental protection organs of the local people's governments in coastal areas are responsible for the environmental protection work of preventing pollution damage resulting from coastal construction projects and land-sourced pollutants. This coordinated network plays an important role in the implementation of the related laws and the efficient protection of the marine environment.
China carries out the policy of putting prevention first and combining prevention with control in managing existing marine pollution. While endeavoring to make a success in the protection of marine biological resources and the prevention and control of marine pollution, China makes the prevention and control of land-sourced pollution the focal point of its marine environmental protection work. A series of regulations have been drawn up to check land-sourced pollutant emission, and enhance the monitoring, surveillance and control of the main pollutant-emission outlets. Large and medium-sized cities have paid constant attention to readjusting the distribution of industries, improving technical transformation, and recovering waste gas, waste water and industrial residue (the "three wastes") for multipurpose use. Enterprises creating serious pollution are required to take effective measures to control it within a definite period of time; otherwise they have to close down, suspend operations, merge with other plants, change their products or move to other places. Besides, a number of sewage treatment plants have been built to control new pollution sources and reduce the amount of land-sourced pollutants dumped into the sea. To prevent marine pollution resulting from ship and port discharge, in addition to the formulation of the Crash Program to Combat Ships' Oil Pollution, oil-water separators have been installed aboard ships of all types in accordance with relevant stipulations, and oil-polluted water treatment equipment, including emergency treatment equipment, has been installed at all sea ports. This equipment can help dispose of 3.7 million tons of oil-polluted water from vessels and recover 42,000 tons of waste oil a year. Similarly, to prevent marine environment pollution resulting from offshore oil exploitation, besides the formulation by offshore oilfields of the Crash Program to Combat Oil Spills During Offshore Oil Exploration and Exploitation, oil-polluted water treatment equipment has been installed on all drilling platforms, engine-room oil-water separators have also been installed aboard all drilling ships, and oil barriers, chemical de-oiling agents and spill recovery ships provided in all China's offshore oilfields.

The UNCED Agenda 21, formulated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, recommends that a comprehensive marine management system be established by countries with sea coasts to ensure sustainable utilization of the sea and coordinated development of the marine programs.This recommendation has received endorsement from all the countries in the world, including China.

In recent years China has established and perfected state marine management organs as well as local organs in coastal regions, with a fairly large contingent of personnel engaged in marine law enforcement, management, monitoring and scientific research.Marine-related laws and regulations have been formulated and comprehensive management exercised. China has also improved its legislation work concerning maritime matters. The National People's Congress has adopted the Law of the People's Republic of China on Its Territorial Seas and Adjacent Zones, Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, Maritime Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, Fisheries Law of the People's Republic of China, Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China and other related laws. The State Council has promulgated administrative regulations, encompassing the Regulations on the Exploitation of Offshore Petroleum Resources in Cooperation with Foreign Enterprises, Regulations on the Administration of Sino-Foreign Oceanographic Surveys, Regulations Governing the Laying of Submarine Cables and Pipelines, and Procedures for the Registration and Administration of Mineral Resources Survey Zones and Sectors. In content, these laws and administrative regulations are all consistent with the principles and relevant provisions contained in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The formulation and implementation of these laws, rules and regulations has, on the one hand, protected China's state sovereignty and marine rights and interests, and on the other, promoted the rational development of marine resources and the effective protection of the marine environment. Comprehensive management of China's marine areas is beginning to be contained within a legal framework.
China has achieved gratifying successes in comprehensive management experiments in the coastal zones. The Comprehensive Survey of China's Coastal Zones and Tideland Resources, which was carried out from 1979 to 1986, has accumulated abundant information for further efforts to be made in this field. Since 1994, construction of the Coastal Zone Model Comprehensive Management Area has been going on in Xiamen, with joint efforts by the Chinese government, the UN Development Program (UNDP) and other organizations. This project, which has achieved good results, has been praised by international organizations and provided experience for China and other countries to draw on for work in this regard. In 1997, China again cooperated with the UNDP in coastal zone comprehensive management experiments carried out in Fangcheng in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yangjiang in Guangdong Province and Wenchang in Hainan Province.
The basic objective of comprehensive marine management is to ensure a healthy marine environment and the sustainable utilization of marine resources. To make a greater success in this, China will make further efforts in this field, as follows: It will perfect the legal system pertaining to the use and administration of sea areas; It will set up and perfect an information system to bolster comprehensive marine management, and expand the survey and appraisal of marine resources and the marine environment; It will formulate large-scale offshore functional divisions and plans for comprehensive marine development and protection; It will set up an overall policy-making mechanism to promote the coordinated development of marine programs;

China has joined nearly 20 international organizations, including the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO/IOC), Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), Commission on Maritime Meteorology (CMM), International Maritime Organization (IMO), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), and Pacific Conference on Science and Technology (PACON). China has also engaged extensively in cooperation and exchanges in maritime affairs with scores of countries in the world.
In addition, China has attended all the sessions of the Third Conference on the Law of the Sea of the United Nations (UNCLOS) and joined the formulation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, thus becoming a contracting party to the latter. It has also attended the meetings of the preparatory committees on the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China took part in the establishment of the ISA and was elected as one of its first B-level council member states. As one of the first investors in international seabed development, China has put large amounts of capital, technology and qualified personnel into seabed exploration, which has not only safeguarded China's rights and interests in the international seabed but it also constitutes a contribution to man's endeavors to exploit marine resources. Moreover, a Chinese scientist was elected as one of the first judges of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, playing a positive role in international marine affairs.?
China has also taken part in global oceanographic activities, including the GSMMP (global studies and monitoring of marine pollution), the TOGA (tropical ocean and global atmospheric project), the WOCE (world ocean circulation experiment), the JGOFS (joint global ocean flux study), the LOICE (land-ocean interaction in the coastal zone), and the GLOBEC (global ocean ecosystem dynamics), making positive efforts to promote worldwide oceanographic cooperation. From 1985 to 1990, China sent three ships and more than 300 scientific workers to conduct the coupled ocean and atmospheric response experiment in the tropical Western Pacific (COARE). Large amounts of scientific data were obtained, providing important materials for understanding the influence of that kind of response in the Western Pacific's ``Warm Pool'' on global climate changes, for improving global ocean and climate forecast modes and studying the El Nino Phenomena. China joined the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) and the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in 1990 and 1992, respectively. China also joined the Working Group on Marine Resources Conservation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference and other regional organizations, as well as the Global Ocean Observation System (GOOS) initiated by the UNESCO/IOC and other international organizations, and helped to initiate and organize the Northeast Asia Ocean Observation System.
Since the 1980s, China has engaged in extensive scientific cooperation in marine projects with dozens of countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Canada, Spain, Russia, the DPRK, the ROK and Japan, resulting in fruitful achievements in projects concerning the deltas of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, Kuroshio, air-sea interaction, and the bio-diversity of Hainan Island. During the Kuroshio survey, jointly conducted by China and Japan from 1986 to 1992, more than 100 field operations were carried out, and meetings of over 20 scientists were arranged, which helped to accumulate a rich store of information for understanding the movement of Kuroshio, its regular pattern of changes and its origin, as well as the resources variations in the fishing grounds of the Western Pacific.
While making great efforts for the development and protection of the ocean, China is clearly aware of the fact that, as a developing country with inadequate level of development and limited economic strength, China has lagged behind some of the developed countries in this regard. The marine scientific and technological level in China is relatively low, the equipment used in marine development is backward and many development areas are still in rough shape. Especially, the increasing population and rapid economic growth in the coastal areas in recent years have put great pressure on the marine environmental protection and hampered the rational development of marine resources.