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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 (EEZs), 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
tourist, scenic and recreational spots favorable for developing
marine tourism. In addition, China's offshore areas abound in seawater
resources and regenerable 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 EEZs and 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.
--Overall planning for marine development and control. 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
seabeds 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.
--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.
--Setting up a comprehensive marine management system. 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.
--Actively participating in 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.
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