China inaugurates permanent mission to IMO

LONDON, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has established a permanent mission to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). A reception marking the inauguration was held at the Chinese Embassy in Britain on Tuesday evening.

Zheng Zeguang, Chinese ambassador to Britain and China's permanent representative to the IMO, and Li Yang, vice minister of transport and head of the Chinese delegation to the 34th session of the IMO Assembly, co-hosted the reception.

Nearly 300 guests attended the event, including IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Domingues, heads of delegations to the IMO Assembly, diplomats in London, and representatives from various sectors.

In his remarks, Zheng congratulated the opening of the 34th session and expressed appreciation to Domingues, the IMO Secretariat, and other member states for their long-standing support and cooperation with China.

"Maritime transport is an important link between China and the rest of the world," Zheng said. He stressed that China firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at its core and practices genuine multilateralism, adding that the establishment of the permanent mission demonstrates China's strong support for the IMO as a specialized UN agency.

China, Zheng said, stands ready to deepen exchanges, coordination, and cooperation with the IMO Secretariat and other member states to further contribute to global maritime governance cooperation and the security and resilience of global industrial and supply chains.

Noting that the development of various sectors in China has reached new heights over the past five years, he emphasized that China will continue to advance its modernization through high-quality development, foster new quality productive forces based on local conditions, and pursue high-standard opening up.

For his part, Li said China will earnestly fulfill its obligations under international conventions, shoulder its responsibilities as a major country, and make the best of the permanent mission to expand cooperation with other IMO member states.

China will work to build a modern maritime transport system and contribute more to global economic growth and stable industrial and supply chains, he added.

Congratulating China on establishing the permanent mission, Domingues and other guests also commended the significant achievements in China's maritime sector and its contribution to international maritime cooperation.