China backs UN conference on ocean development

China voiced support for a United Nations conference on ocean development scheduled for June.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday that China will actively take part in the preparation for The Ocean Conference the UN will hold in New York from June 5 to June 9, and will make its own contributions to the sustainable development of oceans.

The theme of the conference is to help implement the Sustainable Development Goal 14: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. The goal is one of the sustainable development goals a UN summit adopted in September 2015.

In the UN general assembly plenary on oceans and the law of the sea convened in December, Wu Haitao, deputy permanent representative ambassador of China to the UN called for strengthened international cooperation to realize the sustainable development of oceans, Xinhua reported.

Wu said that China's proposals of developing a "blue economy" and building the "21st century maritime Silk Road" will help greatly enhance international maritime cooperation.