A highly regarded expo covering the entire industrial chain in marine sectors was held in Qingdao West Coast New Area from Tuesday to Thursday, attracting representative offices and institutions from 70 countries and regions as well as more than 1,000 enterprises.

The East Asia Marine Expo was the first expo characterized by marine sectors held in China this year, organizers said.

The exhibitors displayed high-tech equipment and featured products in marine-related fields.

The three-day expo was part of the paralleling 2022 East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform Qingdao Forum.

The East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform is a high-level program under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Launched in 2016, the expo entered its sixth year as the "international meeting hall for marine sectors", according to organizers.

This year, the expo boasted a total exhibition area of 60,000 square meters, comprising four marine industry exhibition zones.

Organizers also established exhibition online at the same time. Organizers aimed to build the expo into a comprehensive platform combining technological exchange, products display, high-tech fair and investment promotion.

Chasing-innovation Technology is an underwater equipment maker headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, which attended the expo for the first time. The company released its two new products during the expo.

One product is an 8-kilogram professional underwater robot, which can dive as deep as 150 meters and is used for underwater operations with complex situations, such as scientific exploration, aquaculture and emergency aid.

The other product is an underwater robot facing consumers, which is used for automatically cleaning swimming pools.

Xie Xiongfeng, a manager in the company's marketing department, said the expo was among first-class such events across the country, in terms of scale and level. The expo served as a large platform for exchanges and cooperation among industries.

Xie's view was shared by Kang Quan, director of the Institute of Seawater Desalination and Multipurpose Utilization.

"The expo is a platform for dialogue between industries and academia and helps us target market needs and accelerate technological industrialization," Kang said.

"The online exhibitors have also provided a rare chance for more researchers to seek cooperative opportunities to accelerate scientific and technological industrialization," he said.

Visitors attend the East Asia Marine Expo held from Tuesday to Thursday in Qingdao West Coast New Area. CHINA DAILY