On June 20, a delegation of the Chinese Consulate General in Vladivostok headed by the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China Piao Yangfan paid an official visit to the A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (NSCMB FEB RAS), in order to meet the Administration and get acquainted with Center’s activities.

The participants of the official meeting were as follows: from the Chinese side: the Consul General of China in Vladivostok Piao Yangfan, the Deputy Consul General Wang Xuechun, and the Consul for Science and Technology Zhang Xiaodong; from the Russian side: the Director of the NSCMB FEB RAS Igor Yuryevich Dolmatov, Corr. Member of RAS, the Deputy Director for International Cooperation Lutaenko Konstantin Anatolyevich, Cand. Sci. Biol., and the Deputy Directors for Science Tatyana Yuryevna Orlova, Cand. Sci. Biol., Vladimir Vladimirovich Mordukhovich, Cand. Sci. Biol., and Andrei Victorovich Boroda, Cand. Sci. Biol., the Head of Center for Aquaculture and Coastal Bioresources NSCMB FEB RAS Sergei Ivanovich Maslennikov, Cand. Sci. Biol.

Director I.Yu. Dolmatov warmly greeted the distinguished guests and outlined in brief the key activities currently carried out by the Center.

K.A. Lutaenko, the Deputy Director for International Cooperation of the NSCMB FEB RAS, presented a report where he told about international relationships, activities of the Primorsky Aquarium scientific and educational center, a branch of the NSCMB FEB RAS, and also about Center’s biological stations. As Konstantin Anatolyevich noted, cooperation with People’s Republic of China has always been one of major components in the development of our Center and has remained invariable all the time. Our mutual efforts are aimed at developing educational exchanges in the fields of research mobility, scientific partnership, organization of joint Russian–Chinese symposia, workshops, and seminars with the participation of scholars, young researchers and students, as well as at publishing joint research papers.

At the meeting, the Consul General of China Piao Yangfan told about Chinese people’s worldview, about how it is important for China to keep the balance between the nature and humans, and also to use natural resources without doing harm to the environment. The Chinese side showed interest in the deep-sea research conducted by the NSCMB FEB RAS and noted the leadership of Russian scientists in exploring the northwestern Pacific Ocean. V.V. Mordukhovich, a Deputy Director for Science, expressed an idea to launch joint marine projects for studying both coastal and deep-seas ecosystems, as well as possible joint expeditions within the framework of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on cooperation in exploration and use of the World Ocean, and also under the existing bilateral agreements and treaties between the NSCMB FEB RAS and Chinese partners.

S.I. Maslennikov, the Head of Center for Aquaculture and Coastal Bioresources NSCMB FEB RAS, informed about the already active contacts with some of Chinese scientific institutions and about the scheduled projects. He also expressed his admiration for the mariculture being developed in China.

T.Yu. Orlova, a Deputy Director for Science, the Head of Laboratory “Marine Microbiota”, told about the problem of harmful algal blooms that may cause significant damage to all living beings in the seas, to the environment and states’ economies, and also about the adverse effects that contact with toxic algae may have on animals’ and humans’ health. The Marine Biobank of our Center hosts the Russia’s only live collection of producers of the major groups of phycotoxins. In addition, unique sediment and biological samples collected by Center’s researchers during numerous expeditions are deposited in the Biobank.

A.V. Boroda, a Deputy Director for Science, expressed his gratitude for the visit and made several suggestions as regards strengthening the cooperation with Chinese colleagues in the field of cell biology and biochemistry.

The official reception of the delegation of the Chinese Consulate General in Vladivostok was in calm and friendly atmosphere and lasted for around two hours. Both sides discussed the academic cooperation between the NSCMB FEB RAS and the leading scientific institutions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where success has been achieved in addressing various marine biology issues such as global change, ecosystem dynamics, marine biodiversity, deep-sea research, etc.

As a result of the visit, an agreement was reached on auspices from the Chinese Consulate General in Vladivostok and comprehensive support of NSCMB FEB RAS employees in implementation of new joint projects while building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with Chinese institutions. The guests of the Center were presented with memorable gifts.

A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences would like to expresses sincere gratitude to the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Vladivostok for the visit, which is an evident sign of our friendship, mutual respect and acceptance of the cultures of both countries.