The future of China’s seafood sector lies in building relationships with developing countries targeted by China’s key foreign policy blueprint, the Belt and Road Initiative, a senior Chinese official has said.
Zhang Xianliang, director of the Fisheries and Fishery Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said China will no longer seek solely to drive exports of seafood, but will seek more collaborative relationships with its trading partners.
Specifically, Zhang said China will seek to enter into “cooperative relationships” with countries targeted by China’s Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, including offering its aquaculture expertise to those interested.
In an interview with the People’s Daily, the daily journal of the Communist Party, Zhang pointed to opportunities for cooperation in co-production of aquaculture in countries along the Silk Road – including countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia, as well as Africa.
Zhang’s comments suggest the possibility of a change of strategy by China on seafood exports, perhaps as a result of rising friction with countries like Kenya and Nigeria, where imports have undercut local products in price.
“There is a large space for cooperation for us,” Zhang told the People’s Daily. China’s “large reserves of talent and technology [in aquaculture]” could be combined with the “good natural conditions” of waters in developing nations to create new sources of profit for Chinese seafood companies, he said.
Zhang’s department will now step up its efforts to engage Belt and Road countries in “fishery diplomacy” said Zhang.
"This initiative will be the growth engine of China’s fishery sector," he added.
