China Releases 12th Five-Year Plan for Oceanic Affairs

China’s State Oceanic Administration and the Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China jointly released “The 12th Five-Year Plan for the Standardization of Oceanic Affairs (hereinafter referred as the Plan)” to work out a set of standards on oceanic affairs covering ocean planning, ocean investigation, ocean energy utilization, and island development.

Eight Tasks
The Plan specifies eight major tasks for the standardization of oceanic affairs:

1. Constructing multi-layered and systematic marine standards
The government is committed to setting up multi-layered and systematic marine standards based on the existing standards in 10 different fields, including ocean planning, ocean investigation, ocean energy utilization, and island development.

2. Intensifying the revision process of the marine standards
During 2011-2015, the government plans to revise 118 national standards and 361 industry standards, 177 of which will be listed as key projects.

3. Strengthening the enforcement of the standards and the supervision mechanism
The government plans to propagate the Plan and to provide training and education about the Plan. Moreover, it also intends to strengthen the supervision mechanism, using multiple ways to measure the enforcement of the Plan and to build up an evaluation system.

4. Carrying out standardized innovative activities in science and technology
The related authorities will work out a mechanism that combines the marine standards with technological innovation and carry out the pre-research, formulation, and application of important standards.

5. Constructing an information service platform for the marine standards
The government will build:

• A database for the issuance of marine standards
• An information system for researches on the establishment and the revision of the marine standards
• An information exchange platform for the establishment of marine standards
• An information platform for research on the enforcement of the marine standards
• A database for talent related to oceanic affairs

6. Advancing the internationalization of the marine standards
The related departments are also dedicated to researching on the internationally-recognized marine standards, following up with the advanced studies in other countries, and publishing catalogs for international marine standards. Moreover, the related departments will participate in the revision of international marine standards, positively cooperate with other countries on international and regional oceanic standardization, and promote the establishment of standardization technical committees and working groups within the International Organization for Standardization.

7. Guiding the standardization activities of marine-related enterprises
The related authorities will encourage and guide the marine-related enterprises to implement marine-related laws and regulations, as well as the national and industry standards. The enterprises are also encouraged to establish their own business and production standards.

8. Strengthening the regional standardization of oceanic affairs
The government is devoted to involving related department in coastal areas in the work plan to set up region-specific marine standards according to the local marine resources and geographic position. Furthermore, the local oceanic departments are encouraged to construct marine technology standardization demonstration zones, lead the congregation of special advantage industries, and optimize industrial distribution.

Four Measures
Besides outlining eight major tasks, the Plan also lists four substantial measures for improving the standardization of oceanic affairs in China.

1. Strengthening the establishment of standardization organizations
The government will establish technical committees on standardization of oceanic affairs in the field of ocean forecasting, ocean water resource utilization, oceanic engineering technology and consulting.

2. Strengthening the management of the standardization of oceanic affairs
The government will revise the Administrative Measures on the Standardization of Oceanic Affairs and introduce a dynamic management system and a liability system.

3. Strengthening talent cultivation
A talent cultivation mechanism for the standardization of oceanic affairs will be built and more professional training will be provided to enhance the management quality.

4. Adding more funding and increasing the scope of propaganda of the standardization of oceanic affairs.

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