On September 20, while attending the 8th NEAR Subcommittee meeting on Oceans and Fisheries, Secretary- General LIM Byung-jin Lim visited the Ocean Decade International Cooperation Center in Qingdao, China. He conducted a tour and held a meeting with center representatives to discuss cooperation between NEAR and the Ocean Decade International Cooperation Center.

Mr. Lim introduced NEAR and the activities of Chinese NEAR member. He emphasized the pivotal role the Decade of Oceans International Cooperation Center would play in the development of China's maritime industry. Mr. Lim further expressed his hopes to strengthen cooperation between the two international organizations in the coming years.

 YAN Dong, deputy director of the Oceans Bureau of Shandong Province, requested to collaborate in various areas in the future. In addition, he proposed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the near future and extended an invitation to Mr. Lim to attend the 2024 East Asia Maritime Cooperation Platform Qingdao Forum.

During his visit to Weihai, Mr. Lim was interviewed by Shandong TV. He also visited the Blue Carbon Salt Plant Experiment Station and the Weihai Blue Economy Research Center.

The Ocean Decade International Cooperation Center is an international institution jointly established by the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, the Shandong Provincial People's Government, and the Qingdao Municipal People's Government on February 15, 2023. It  aims to promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation to achieve the goals of the United Nations Decade of Marine Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). Moreover, the center seeks to promote the establishment of a globally relevant global ocean innovation platform, build science and technology R&D centers, contract ocean think tanks, and foster economic and trade cooperation.