Huang Huanli, deputy Part chief of Xiangshan, addresses the opening ceremony of the 15th China Marine Forum Xiangshan county of Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 16. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 15th China Marine Forum was held in Xiangshan county of Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 16, local media reported.

The forum, jointly sponsored by the China Pacific Society and Ningbo Municipal People's Government, gathered a number of marine scholars from across the country.

They carried out in-depth discussions on how to make more efficient, environmentally-sound use of ocean resources and further develop fishing areas in Xiangshan and the rest of the country.

Xiangshan is the center of the national marine economic development demonstration zone in Ningbo and excels when it comes to marine equipment, marine smart technology, marine tourism and fishing.

At the forum, the Xiangshan government formed a strategic partnership with Shanghai Ocean University.

The local authorities have also joined forces with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to build a digital industrial service platform which will help manage the entire agriculture industrial chain, from origin tracing, warehousing, and logistics to marketing and brand building.

Several sub-forums focusing on animation, cultural tourism, fishing village revitalization and maritime Silk Road cultural research were held on the sidelines of the event.