The 2025 Global Ocean Development Forum is taking place in Qingdao's West Coast New Area (QWCNA) from September 7 to 9. Alongside the forum, the 2025 East Asia Marine Expo officially opened on the morning of September 7 at the Qingdao World Expo City International Exhibition Center.
This year's expo, themed "Let's Sea Our Futures — Blue • Ocean • Technology", covers an exhibition area of 50,000 square meters and features five major zones: marine development achievements, marine biomedicine, the Asia-Pacific Robot World Cup Qingdao International Invitational Tournament, marine science and technology equipment, and international marine trade. More than 450 companies and institutions taking part in the event to showcase the latest innovations and future trends in the global maritime sector.
The expo integrates the spirit of China's Belt and Road Initiative, pioneering the combination of China–Indonesia marine science cooperation with Shandong's marine achievements as a practical step in advancing the maritime power strategy. The "Shandong Marine Achievements" section presents a comprehensive framework of strategy, science, industry, ports, ecology, and cooperation where it showcases a series of national and provincial firsts, illustrating Shandong's drive to cultivate new marine productivity and its transition from a major maritime province to a strong maritime power through various exhibits, models, and immersive displays.
Cutting-edge marine technology is a highlight of the expo with the participation of 3 leading academic teams: Hou Baorong's group from the Institute of Oceanology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Jianmin's team from the China Ocean Engineering Research Institute in Qingdao, and Li Huajun's team from Ocean University of China. Among the breakthroughs is a high-power permanent magnet integrated machine, jointly developed by Qingdao CCS Electric and Li Hua Jun's team, which has been applied for the first time on China's largest domestically built heavy-lift vessel. Other specialized innovations—including in-situ monitoring instruments developed by a joint Dafeng Technology and the Institute of Oceanographic Instrumentation of the Shandong Academy of Sciences and a dual-mode magnetometer by Weizhuo Technology—have pushed new frontiers in the precision and depth of marine sensing and detection.
For the first time, the expo has established a dedicated marine biomedicine zone, bringing together 85 leading enterprises and institutions. Covering the full industrial chain—from marine resource development and drug discovery to clinical applications—the zone accelerates the realization of the "Blue Pharmacy" vision within China's maritime power strategy.
This year's expo highlights the convergence of marine science and technology with emerging industries. Notable exhibits include Marine + Smart Energy solutions from State Grid Shandong Electric Vehicle Service Company, and low-altitude economy drone applications for smart ocean management from Hangda Hanlai. These demonstrate how marine technologies are opening new growth scenarios when integrated with fields such as new energy. Running in parallel, the Asia-Pacific Robot World Cup Qingdao International Invitational Tournament combines competition, exhibition, and conference formats to present Shandong's robotics industry chain and innovations in AI application.
