On June 5th, the 7th International Symposium on the Scientific and Legal Issues of the Continental Shelf and International Seabed Area Regime opened in Qingdao, China. Sun Shuxian, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Director of the State Oceanic Administration, and Miao Deyu, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivered speeches via video. Mike Lodge, Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority, Thomas Haidar, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Aldino Campos, Chairman of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, and Ares, Director of the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, delivered keynote speeches. Sun Shuxian pointed out that 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. As a contracting party to the Convention, China actively builds a blue partnership, pragmatically promotes bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the ocean, establishes a joint training and research center between China and the International Seabed Authority, and supports capacity building in developing countries; Fully support the work of the three major institutions of the Convention (the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, the International Seabed Authority, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea), fully participate in the ocean governance mechanisms, consultations, and negotiations under the Convention and the United Nations framework, and play a constructive role in the formulation of international regulations for the development of seabed resources and the protection of marine biodiversity; Implementing the concept of a community with a shared future for the ocean, adhering to green and sustainable development of the ocean, fulfilling environmental obligations under the Convention, launching multiple major scientific plans such as "Digital Deep Sea Typical Habitat", "Seamless Forecasting System for Oceans and Climate", and "Ocean Negative Emissions" to support the United Nations "Decade of the Oceans" initiative, and making positive contributions to accelerating the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We hope to make positive contributions to maintaining a just and reasonable international maritime order and improving the global maritime governance framework through discussions. The seminar lasts for 2 days and is hosted by the Institute of Marine Development Strategy of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Second Institute of Oceanography. More than 150 representatives from the three major institutions of the Convention, the United Nations Department for the Law of the Sea, and experts and scholars from multiple countries participated in the seminar, focusing on the development process, existing problems, and challenges of the continental shelf and regional systems. They conducted sufficient exchanges and discussions from both scientific and legal perspectives. The International Symposium on the Scientific and Legal Issues of the Continental Shelf and International Seabed Area System was founded in 2010. It has played a positive role in strengthening exchanges between international organizations, government departments, and experts and scholars, deepening understanding of issues related to the continental shelf and international seabed areas, and promoting understanding and application of the system of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. (Lai Xin She)