On 3 November 2017, the 12th World Ocean Week (WOW) in Xiamen, under the theme of “Global Ocean Governance for Blue Economy”, was held in Xiamen, Fujian province. As the Main Forum of 2017 WOW, the 2017 Xiamen International Ocean Forum & Blue Economy Partnership Forum was held on the same day. Mr. Meng Qian, Vice Mayor of Xiamen, hosted the opening ceremony of the forum. Mr. Wang Hong, Administrator of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) of China, and Ms. Ana Paula Vitorino, Minister of Sea of Portugal, delivered remarks respectively, which were followed by the Launching Ceremony of Ocean Carnival. The forum was co-hosted by SOA and Xiamen Municipal People’s Government, and co-organized by Secretariat of WOW, Fujian Institute of Oceanography and Xiamen University. Around 400 participants including government officials from more than 40 countries, such as China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Timor-Leste, and so on, representatives from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) and relevant international organizations, ocean-related enterprises, experts, scholars and media, attended the event.

As one of the co-organizers of the 2017 WOW, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) sent its representative to participate in the forum. The representative actively briefed on the development of ASEAN-China relations and ACC’s work, and exchanged views on jointly building “the 21st Maritime Silk Road” with all parties. The 2017 WOW and its activities last until 9 November.