From May 28 to 29, 2025, the Third China-Pacific Island Countries (PICs) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Xiamen, Fujian Province. China has prepared a list of measures to implement the consensus reached at the meeting. Notably, regarding maritime cooperation, China's Initiative on Strengthening Practical Maritime Cooperation with Pacific Island Countries was released. The full text is as follows:

We, the People’s Republic of China,

RECALLING the establishment of comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development between China and Pacific Island Countries (PICs) in November 2018, as well as the establishment of meeting mechanism of foreign ministers of China and PICs in October 2021;

FURTHER RECALLING the signing of cooperation documents under the Belt and Road Initiative between China and the 11 PICs that have established diplomatic relations with China, as well as the establishment of cooperation platforms in different fields including emergency reserve, climate change, poverty alleviation and economic development and others;

APPRECIATING the efforts made by China and PICs having diplomatic ties with China in steadfastly advancing South-South cooperation, pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and building an even closer China-PICs community with a shared future;

RECOGNIZING the pivotal and fundamental role of maritime governance and shipping development in promoting the livelihood and economic growth of both PICs and China;

SUPPORTING the promoting of the security of international transportation channels and the resilience of global logistics supply chains through enhancing maritime cooperation;

REAFFIRMING that China and PICs consistently respect the framework of international maritime conventions and regulations;

BUILDING ON the tangible outcomes achieved by China and PICs in enhancing maritime safety standards, improving seafarers’ competencies, protecting marine environment, and conducting training programs for maritime officials,

FULLY RECOGNIZING the vital role of deepening pragmatic and comprehensive cooperation between China and PICs in safeguarding regional shipping safety, protecting marine environment, protecting seafarers’ rights, and the significance in ensuring unimpeded regional logistics supply chains, supporting the implementation of 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, and advancing the Belt and Road Initiative,

Propose the following visions and initiatives:

Uphold the international system centered on the United Nations and the international order based on international law, and work together to maintain the global shipping governance framework built upon institutions such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

China stands ready to enhance cooperation with PICs in promoting maritime safety and preventing marine pollution, to implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to align with the IMO’s strategic plan of  paying particular attention to the needs of developing countries, especially small island developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs).

Focusing on key areas such as maritime traffic management and risk prevention and control, China will deepen cooperation with PICs through sharing of information, experiences, and best practices, while advancing the improvement of domestic ferry safety management systems, optimizing dangerous goods supervision mechanisms, enhancing search and rescue emergency response capability, and aligning ship safety inspection standards within the region, for the purpose of providing essential support for strengthening regional maritime safety governance.    

China will ensure compliance with international conventions and regulations with regard to marine environment protection, strengthen cooperation in preventing and mitigating pollution from ships, and co-build a marine pollution emergency response system, thereby contributing to a clean and sustainable marine environment in the Pacific region.

Under the framework of 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships and IMO Net-zero Framework, China will leverage its technological expertise and practical experience in maritime decarbonization, deepen technical cooperation in the application of new energies and new technologies, in the development of laws, regulations and standards, as well as in the capacity building of personnel, so as to facilitate the systematic implementation of emissions reduction measures in the Pacific region and foster joint efforts in addressing climate change.

China will conduct education and training programs for seafarers from PICs to improve the quality of seafarer training in the region, and assist PICs in establishing seafarer full-cycle management systems in accordance with the standards as stipulated in the STCW Convention and Code. Meanwhile, China will explore ways to promote mutual recognition of Certificates of Competence of seafarers, with a view to enhancing the international competitiveness of seafarers from PICs.

In response to the innovation wave brought by intelligent and unmanned technology, China will focus on advancing the research and development of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), optimizing the “Maritime Single Window” system, promoting electronic certificates, artificial intelligence application and integrated innovation in the shipping sector, and supporting the modernization of maritime management approaches and law enforcement equipment of PICs.

Under the framework of the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), China will support PICs in developing robust technical standards and legal frameworks on implementing IMO instruments, conduct at least one training program for maritime officials from PICs every year, enhance collaborative research on the formulation and development of international maritime regulations and standards, and increase the participation and influence of both China and PICs in global maritime governance, thereby serving and protecting the overall interests of shipping industry of the Pacific region.

China will promote the establishment of a regular maritime consultation mechanism between China and PICs, and explore new modes of regional maritime governance that are more open and inclusive, through the signing of bilateral or multilateral maritime cooperation documents.

China will advance the establishment of the China-PICs Maritime Technical Cooperation Center as a tangible platform to provide maritime capacity-building support through technical cooperation, training programs, and personnel exchanges, laying a more solid foundation for the enhanced maritime connectivity between China and PICs, as well as the healthy development of shipping industry in the Pacific region.