On May 11, 2018, the five-person delegation led by Professor Sergey Gorbarenko from the Institute of Pacific Ocean, Fareast Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, visited the First Institute of Oceanography (the FIO for short). During the visit, Li Tiegang, Director of the FIO and Professor Sergey Gorbarenko held the talks about the operation management and future cooperation of the China-Russia Center for Ocean and Climate (“the Center” for short). Yang Yafeng, Director of the Division of International Cooperation and Communication, Zheng Wei, Deputy Director of the Division of International Cooperation and Communication, Meng Xianwei, Deputy Director of the Laboratory of Marine Geology and Geophysics, and the backbone scientists from China and Russia joined the discussion.

Li Tiegang, Director of the FIO, expressed his warm welcome to the delegation led by Professor Sergey Gorbarenko, and he pointed out that the substantial cooperation and remarkable achievements between the two parties have laid a solid foundation for the future collaboration. Last year, the two partners co-established the Center through which they have deepened and promoted the cooperation in all the fields. The FIO will fully support the operation and development of the Center, and encourage scientists from the two countries to conduct more in-depth cooperation in terms of the joint voyage, joint paper issuing, and cooperated R&D. Professor Sergey Gorbarenko expressed his gratitude to the strong support of Director Li for the Center and gave a brief introduction of the conducted cooperation and research. He also hoped that the two parties could carry out more substantial collaboration in joint research. The two parties also held an in-depth discussion in issues about the voyage investigations and the work plan about the major businesses of the Center.

Located in Haishenwai, Russia, the Center was co-founded by the FIO and the Institute of Pacific Ocean, Fareast Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. Professor Sergey Gorbarenko from the Institute of Pacific Ocean and Researcher Shi Xuefa from the FIO respectively served as the director of the first session and the co-director of the Center. The establishment of the Center symbolizes that the Sino-Russia cooperation in ocean and climate has entered in a new phase, and the two parties will also comprehensively enhance the research and study of ocean, polar regions, resources, and climate, thus providing scientific support in the construction of the “Ice Silk Road” Initiative.