The inaugural seminar in the "Hai-Eu Dialogue Series Webinar I - Institutional Opening Up: Advancing Free Trade Port Governance and Connectivity" was held virtually on September 3rd. The seminar was jointly organized by the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, the Swedish Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP), and the Institute for China-Europe Studies (ICES). Joost Hintjens, Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Antwerp, Guo Wenqin, Vice President of the Hainan Institute for Free Trade Port Studies, and Daniel Balazs, Senior Research Analyst at ICES, delivered speeches and answered questions on China-Europe port connectivity and the alignment of rules for the Hainan Free Trade Port.

More than 60 representatives from universities, think tanks, and maritime institutions in China and Europe participated virtually. Huayang Center organized its researchers to attend the seminar, which was also broadcast live on overseas social media platform (X).

The "Hai-Eu Dialogue Series Webinar I - Institutional Opening Up: Advancing Free Trade Port Governance and Connectivity" was jointly initiated by the Huayang Center, ISDP, and ICES. It aims to leverage the professional strengths of the three institutions in international relations and maritime affairs to build a Track II exchange platform involving experts, scholars, and the public, enhance mutual understanding, promote policy dialogue, and explore the prospects for Sino-European maritime cooperation.