Participants of the event discuss issues online. [Photo/China Daily]

Representatives from 13 APEC economies, including Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and the United States as well as some international organization members, participated in the event online.

During the forum, the China Ocean Development Research Association released an index revealing the marine economic development in China over the last year, showing that it has maintained its overall stability.

The APEC Marine Sustainable Development Center proposed an initiative at the event in a bid to further promote the blue economy and call for deeper cooperation among the APEC members.

Shen Jun, an official from the Ministry of Natural Resources, said that since all APEC members share one common ocean, they hold a deep consensus on exploring, protecting and utilizing it. China is poised for more effective action to promote the blue economy and looks forward to mutually beneficial cooperation with the other APEC members.

On Friday, the Forum of the 2021 China Aquatic Products Conference, another supplementary activity at the ocean week, kicked off online and was participated in by more than 20,000 representatives.

Prestigious academicians and experts from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, research institutes and business leaders from internet enterprises were invited to make in-depth analysis on the trade and trend of aquatic products at home and abroad.

They also shared their knowledge on making macroeconomic policies, developments under the dual-circulation pattern, current issues on the aquatic processing industry and the aquatic product consumption and market.

A roundtable meeting of "The Ocean Super Year-Global Progress on Ocean Health in 2021" was held online on Thursday.

More than 50 representatives from around the globe attended the meeting which reviewed the progress on oceans in many global conferences, such as United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021 and the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, attended the event online and stressed the significance of the sustainable development of the marine economy.

Disorderly development will face a certain dead end. Therefore, people must make changes and hold fast to the principles of sustainability, recyclability and fairness when dealing with ocean-related issues, Thomson said.

"Adhering to the goal of sustainable development, Xiamen World Ocean week will continue to stand as an international platform to promote cooperation among international partners and boost marine scientific and technological progress," Thomson added.

Since 2005, the Xiamen World Ocean Week has been attended by around 1,000 officials and expert representatives from 127 countries and regions in total. To date, the event and its supplementary activities were joined by more than 2 million visitors.

Photos are displayed during the World Ocean Week in Xiamen. [Photo/China Daily]