The 25-year-old China-US Marine and Fishery Science and
Technology Cooperation Protocol, which sets out guidelines for
cooperation, was renewed on Wednesday.
Parts of the protocol -- which was first signed on May 8, 1979
-- were amended to broaden the resources of the participants and
included provisions regarding intellectual property rights, said a
statement from the State Oceanic Administration.
The amendments also touch on issues of handling confidentiality
of information and equipment used for security, national defense or
diplomatic interests.
For the past 25 years, the parties have cooperated in such
fields as the role of the ocean in climate change, marine
information and data exchange and conservation of marine living
resources. They have also worked together on integrated coastal
zone management, marine environmental services and polar
research.
The joint efforts contribute to the effective protection of the
marine environment, rational development and utilization of marine
resources, realization of sustainable development of the ocean as
well as economic development.
The United States is working with China and other countries to
formulate plans for the construction and maintenance of a global
Earth observation system to meet environmental challenges, said
Conrad Lautenbacher, administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration of the United States.
(China Daily July 22, 2004)