On April 25, a delegation from Solomon Islands including Dr. Transform Aqorau, Vice Chancellor of Solomon Islands National University (SINU), Dr. Morgan Wairiu, Pro-Chancellor of SINU, Mr. Barrett Salato, Ambassador to China, and Mr. Lawrence Hayward, Premier of Isabel Province visited OUC. President Zhang Junfeng and Vice President Wang Houjie met with the guests, and held talks on deepening strategic cooperation.

President Zhang noted that OUC, taking the lead globally in multiple disciplinary fields such as marine science and fisheries, has long been committed to global engagement, and has forged partnerships with over 300 partner universities and institutions from more than 50 countries and regions. OUC is also vigorously building a platform and network for collaborative innovation in marine research and education. He highlighted that OUC will strengthen pragmatic cooperation with Solomon Islands in fields such as marine science, climate change response, and aquaculture, advance the establishment of a joint ocean research center, and work for mutual benefits and common development, thereby making greater contributions to building a closer China-Pacific Island Countries community with a shared future.

On behalf of the delegation, Premier Lawrence Hayward delivered a speech. He noted that the Solomon Islands Government attaches great importance to the development of the marine and aquaculture industries, and highly values pragmatic cooperation with China in related fields. The delegation had in-depth discussions with OUC on the joint establishment of a marine aquaculture research and development center in Isabel Province, which will advance the development of the local marine aquaculture industry, enhance local capacity-building, and foster economic growth. It is hoped that this collaboration will set a successful model for other provinces of Solomon Islands and even the entire South Pacific region.

During the meeting, President Zhang Junfeng, Vice Chancellor Transform Aqorau, Premier Lawrence Hayward, and Chairman Yang Jianqing from JQY Group jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding on establishing the marine aquaculture research and development center.

On the afternoon of April 25, Vice President Wang Houjie met with the delegation on Laoshan Campus. The two sides engaged in productive discussions on topics including the cooperative initiative of building an ocean research center, marine science and technology, talent cultivation, deep-sea observation and research, sustainable marine development, future cooperation on building a Confucius Institute in Solomon Islands, and collaboration on integrating artificial intelligence into education.