Scaling Innovation: Fujian-OI Leading Experts Invited to Join Global Leaders at Summer Davos 2026

At the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC 2026, also known as Summer Davos 2026) held in Dalian, China, leading experts from Fujian Ocean Innovation Center (Fujian-OI) were invited to join global leaders to discuss how cutting-edge innovation can be translated into real-world impact. Convened under the overarching theme "Innovating at Scale," AMNC 2026 brought together over 1,700 participants from more than 90 countries and regions to explore transformative pathways for sustainable economic growth driven by science and technology.

Representing Fujian-OI, Prof. Minhan Dai, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of Fujian-OI, and Prof. Fei Chai, Deputy Director of Fujian-OI, were invited to contribute their expertise to high-level thematic sessions, addressing critical challenges at the intersection of ocean sustainability, deep technology, and global governance.

As Co-Chair of the "Engineering the Ocean" session, Prof. Dai articulated a forward-looking vision for a regenerative blue economy, drawing directly on the newly released milestone report, The Regenerative Blue Economy: Pathways to Prosperity. He highlighted the urgent necessity to move beyond traditional "damage-mitigation" framework – which merely focuses on minimizing harm – and transition toward active regenerative development that restores marine ecosystems while simultaneously unlocking long-term economic value. He called for a systemic shift to embed net-positive impact principles into global marine infrastructure and blue finance criteria by 2030.

"When legal and market systems reward ecological gains," Prof. Dai noted, "regenerative engineering can move from being an ambitious exception to the industry standard."

In the session titled Seeing the Invisible Earth, Prof. Fei Chai introduced Digital Twins of the Ocean (DITTO), a UN Ocean Decade-endorsed program. Prof. Chai demonstrated how DITTO seamlessly integrates ocean observations, artificial intelligence, numerical modelling and big-data analytics to construct an interactive, high-fidelity digital replica of marine systems. This advanced infrastructure enables real-time monitoring, high-precision simulation, and predictive forecasting of ocean processes. By bridging the gap between raw data and actionable insights, DITTO provides a robust, evidence-based decision-support system for marine governance, climate resilience, and sustainable blue economic development, driving ocean science from "understanding the ocean" to "predicting and managing the ocean".

Together, the insights shared by Fujian-OI’s leading experts perfectly mirrored the complementary aspects of the Forum's theme on "Innovating at Scale". While the regenerative blue economy framework outlines the strategic vision for the future of ocean stewardship, DITTO delivers the core technological architecture required to translate that vision into scalable, real-world deployment.

Their high-profile participation underscores Fujian-OI's ongoing commitment to fostering an open, collaborative, and integrated innovation ecosystem. By seamlessly linking fundamental scientific discovery and technological innovation with international collaboration, Fujian-OI continues to expand China’s active role in global ocean governance and sustainability.

Beyond the official sessions, Prof. Dai and Prof. Chai engaged in a series of bilateral meetings with representatives from international organizations, multinational corporations, and premier research institutions. These high-level exchanges have significantly broadened Fujian-OI's global partnership network, reinforcing its institutional capacity to drive cross-border and cross-sector cooperation in ocean science and the global blue economy.