File Photo: US Secretary of State John Kerry.
China and the United States launched a new joint initiative today to protect the oceans, a key issue along with climate change on which the two nations say they can cooperate.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and State Councilor Yang Jeichi chaired the first meeting of a new oceans working group as the two nations moved into the third and final day of key annual strategic talks.
"Once again we're breaking new ground with respect to China and the United States's ability to find an area in which we can cooperate which has major significance ... for people everywhere," Kerry said.
Some 400 Chinese officials have been visiting Washington since Sunday for the annual strategic and economic dialogue, a forum for the two uneasy partners to try to manage their increasingly complex ties.
China and the United States are two of the top fishing nations in the world, Kerry said, and also leaders in ocean science.
"So we have a real opportunity here to be able to come together ... to deal with conserving and protecting the oceans," he said, adding it could be "a centerpiece in the newly defining relationship with China."
Yang agreed, saying the oceans were "a shared homeland of mankind, vital for our survival and development."
Even though the world's two leading economies remain at odds over some aspects of maritime policy, in particular over Beijing's territorial claim to most of the South China Sea, Kerry said "in the marine environment there is an urgent need for our countries to step up and help lead."
"The oceans are part of us, all of us," Kerry insisted, saying "we need to heed carefully the responsibilities that we have."
Beijing and Washington are working together to try to create a marine protected area in Antarctica in the Ross sea, he said, referencing one of the world's last true wildernesses.
The United States has long sought to create a marine reservation in the Ross Sea stretching across some 1.34 million square kilometers (517, 400 square miles) in an area often referred to as the "Last Ocean" due to its pristine condition.
Environmentalists say the Southern Ocean is home to more than 10,000 unique species, including penguins, whales and colossal squid.
But to the dismay of environmentalists, China blocked the move at a meeting in Australia last year.
Warning about the dangers of "an eco-system collapse," Kerry highlighted the threats to the world's marine life, pointing out that a third of all fisheries are overfished while most of the rest are "at maximum level of sustainability."
There are some 500 dead zones in the oceans "where nothing lives, nothing grows" and the levels of plastic debris pose even further threats to sustaining life, while climate change is leading to the gradual acidification of the seas.
Meanwhile on burgeoning economic ties, the US side stressed the need for transparency and proper regulation for businesses.
TransparencyChina is currently the fastest growing source of foreign direct investment in the United States, and in 2014 US exports to China reached $124 billion, making it America's third largest export market.
"A key ingredient is regulatory rulemaking that is transparent, predictable, and open to stakeholder input," said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew at a roundatable with top chief executives from Chinese and American companies.
"It is also of vital importance that there are non-discriminatory technology policies and open trade in information and communications technology goods."
Vice Premier Wang Yang, speaking through an interpreter, said business investment was an important part of the bilateral relationship.
"There are still problems and obstacles, and these require new ways of thinking," he said.