Weng Lifen, deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), has urged the central government to approve the establishment of the East China Sea Institute.

Weng, principal of Dachen Experimental School in Jiaojiang district, Taizhou, Zhejiang province, made the proposal while attending a panel meeting of deputies to the NPC from Zhejiang province held on May 27 in Beijing.

She also suggested Dachen Island in Taizhou as the location of the institute.

"The East China Sea is the second largest water body in China and contributes significantly to marine economic development in China," said Weng. She added that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are separated by the sea, making the East China Sea important to stable cross-Straits relations.

She continued on to say that the institute will offer strong intellectual support for properly utilizing the East China Sea and for research on cross-Straits relations.

According to Weng, as early as 2012, the Jiaojiang district government signed a cooperation framework agreement with the Center for Strategic and International Studies of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee to establish the Dachen Island International Studies Base.

In 2017, Zhejiang Dongwu Wei Wen's Voyage to the Taiwan Foundation convened a meeting to discuss the East China Sea Institute's (Dachen Island) goal of becoming a comprehensive strategic think tank.

She also noted that Taizhou has been holding the China (Taizhou) East Sea Culture and Tourism Festival for the past several years and that Dachen Island was rated as a State-level cross-Straits exchange center in 2019.

Weng Lifen, deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), urges the central government to approve the establishment of the East China Sea Institute. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfb001]