Ocean Agentics CEO sees Xiamen as bridge for BBNJ cooperation

Aaron Roan, CEO of Ocean Agentics, had never been to Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China's Fujian province, before this year's World Ocean Week. The city, he said, left a strong impression.

"This is my first time in Xiamen. It's been absolutely lovely. It's a beautiful city," he said in an interview with China.org.cn.

Aaron Roan, CEO of Ocean Agentics, speaks to China.org.cn in an interview during the 2026 World Ocean Week in Xiamen, Nov. 5, 2026. [Photo by Chen Yuehan/China.org.cn]

Roan attended the 2026 International Conference on BBNJ: Science and Governance, a key event during the 2026 World Ocean Week in Xiamen, which runs from Nov. 5 to 11.

BBNJ refers to the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.

The conference was organized by the China Deep Ocean Affairs Administration, the Second Institute of Oceanography and the China Institute for Marine Affairs, all under the Ministry of Natural Resources. It brought together government officials, academicians, experts, and representatives of international organizations and NGOs, online and in person, to build consensus on protecting marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Roan said the conference and the wider ocean week gave him a good look at the marine research underway in Xiamen.

"I had a wonderful tour of Xiamen University and learned a lot about some of the research that's happening there. I'm very excited about the possibility of partnerships, especially in the world of BBNJ, where we want a lot of international cooperation," he said.

What impressed him most about Xiamen's work to protect the marine environment was its investment in science.

"I got to be hosted by two wonderful members of Xiamen University, professors from technology as well as marine science, who were showing me a lot of beautiful research that they're doing. And I think there's a lot of possibilities that can come from that," he said.

Xiamen is bidding to host the BBNJ secretariat. Roan said he had only a limited perspective after a few days in the city but was impressed by the infrastructure China is investing in to support Xiamen's bid.

"For all potential hosts of the secretariat, what we need to do is foster more communication, more cooperation, and what China is doing right now is furthering that," he said. "I support them fully in driving the discussion and making it easier for international cooperation."

Roan said that if Xiamen wins the bid, the secretariat's top priority in its first two years should be building trust. "Becoming a host is kind of an occasion that they are in a good position to lead. And to me, leading in the space is about earning the trust of all the communities from across the world on how we can all cooperate on BBNJ," he said.

For young people interested in marine conservation, Roan offered a simple piece of advice: share your love of the ocean. "Saving the ocean is a slow process. So the youth today are going to be the ones that actually will end up saving the ocean from my perspective. And I think you only save what you can see and what you can care about," he said.

He encouraged young people to go to the beach and try sailing, scuba diving or swimming with friends, and to show others why the ocean is such an important part of the ecosystem. "It really shows that the ocean isn't separate from us. So if the ocean dies, we all die. So it's very important to give people that perspective. And I think youth can lead the way there," he said.