The 7th China-Sri Lanka Joint Workshop on Tropical Marine Sciences was held simultaneously offline and online in Guangzhou, China and Matara, Sri Lanka on August 25, 2023. 

The workshop was organized by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanography (SCSIO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Ruhuna in Sri Lanka, and co-hosted by the China-Sri Lanka Joint Center for Education & Research, the China-Sri Lanka Joint Laboratory on Tropical Marine Environment along the Belt and Road, etc. 

It focused on the theme of "Promoting Marine Sustainable Development with Earth Big Data". More than 80 scholars from China, Sri Lanka, India, and other countries participated in the workshop. 

Fig. 1 Group photo in Guangzhou (Image by SCSIO)

During the workshop, the experts summarized the role of Earth big data in promoting marine sustainable development, looking forward to the prospects of Earth big data cooperation between China and Sri Lanka as well as Indian Ocean research, and outlining the current status and plans of hydrological observations in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean region. 

They also discussed on topics such as marine disasters in the Indian Ocean, marine environment and resources, and marine geology. 

LI Chaolun, Director of the South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, hoped to continuously broaden the scope of cooperation, deepen collaboration, and serve the needs of disaster prevention and reduction. 

President of the University of Ruhuna in Sri Lanka, Sujeewa Amarasena believed that the annual joint symposium was an incubator for cooperative achievements between the two sides, and many collaborations were achieved through academic workshop exchanges. 

The attendees showed much interest in expanding new collaborations through the platform of the China-Sri Lanka Joint Center for Education and Research. 

Fig. 2 Group photo in Matara (Image by SCSIO)