The First Ocean Decade Coastal Cities Conference was held in Qingdao from February 26 till 27.

The two-day-long event gathered nearly 400 heads of international ocean-related organizations, representatives from Chinese and foreign ocean-related businesses, government departments and scientific research institutions, and experts and scholars from 29 countries and regions. Attendees saw "Cities with the ocean", the UN-sponsored international platform for marine governance, gain strength. Five themed meetings and case studies were launched to share experience and advanced practices in marine ecological conservation, present in a systemic way actions and results in terms of treatment of ocean waste, biodiversity protection, building of a green and low-carbon marine ecology, providing solutions that can be referred to for the sustainable development of coastal cities across the globe.

The opening ceremony saw the release of a series of public products such as the "Cities with the ocean" platform's annual progress report, the announcement of eight new members of the platform, and the hosting of youth advocacy events. The Qingdao Declaration was issued in the closing ceremony, calling for concerted efforts of coastal cities and ports around the world and all stakeholders under the Ocean Decade Initiative to build the “Cities with the ocean” platform into a global marine cooperation platform that is inclusive and mutually beneficial, ensure the ocean will stay healthy and vigorous and leave a more prosperous and sustainable ocean to our future generations.  (Xue Huafei)

The opening ceremony.  By Han Xing