On December 9, 2021,
the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) successfully hosted
the 8th Symposium of the North Pacific Arctic Research Community (NPARC) online.
H.E. Mr. Gao Feng,
Special Representative of Arctic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the People’s Republic of China, H.E. Mr. Young-Gi Hong, Ambassador for Arctic
Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Hide
Sakaguchi, President of the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI), the
Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Dr. Jong Deog Kim, Executive President of Korea
Maritime Institute (KMI) delivered speeches. Over 50 participants from KMI,
Hokkaido University, Incheon National University, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan
Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), Ocean University of China, China
Ocean Shipping Group，Harbin Engineering University，Shanghai Ocean University， Guangdong
University of Foreign Studies and SIIS attended the symposium.
In his welcome
remark, Professor Yang Jian, Vice President of SIIS, introduced said the NPARC,
initiated by Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), was founded by universities and
research institutes of China, Japan and Korea in 2014. The Shanghai Institutes
for International Studies is one of its founding members. It aims to
encourage regional interdisciplinary research on emerging challenges and
opportunities in the Arctic; to communicate and to share regional research
outcomes for capacity building; and to enhance cooperation among members
through various mechanisms. Since its
foundation, the annual NPARC symposium have been held alternately among the
three countries. According to the mechanism, this year’s symposium should be
organized by the Chinese side. This symposium hosted by SIIS is the eighth
symposium under the NPARC framework.
The symposium consisted of three parts: The keynote presentation session, which was chaired by Professor Natsuhiko Otsuka of the Arctic Research Center of Hokkaido University, was centered on “The Pacific Lens of the Arctic Governance and Cooperation”. The second part, chaired by Dr. Zhang Yao, Director of Center for Marine & Polar Studies of SIIS, was about Russia’s Arctic Development Strategy, Priorities on the Agenda for Russia's Arctic Council Chairmanship and the Outlook for Cooperation between Russia and East Asian Countries. The third part was themed “Future-Oriented Shipping and Technology Cooperation between Russia and East Asian Countries”. Capt. Cai Meijiang, Senior Engineer of China Ocean Shipping Group, Professor Guo Peiqing of Ocean University of China, Professor Gao Tianming, Director of Arctic Blue Economy Research Center, Harbin Engineering University and Professor Erokhin Vasilii, Associate Professor of Arctic Blue Economy Research Center, Harbin Engineering University made presentations on behalf of the Chinese institutes.
Dr. Zhang Yao, Dr.
Zhang Pei, Dr. Zhao Long, Dr. Zheng Yingqin, Dr. Xue Chen, Dr. Zhang Qiyue and
Ms. Xu Xiaolan participated in the symposium.