From the Mediterranean to the dinner table

Bright prospects

Zhang said China-Malta cooperation in the blue economy holds bright prospects and that numerous collaborative achievements in the bluefin tuna sector had already been realized.

China is willing to work with Malta to expand opportunities for two-way investment and cooperation and supports Maltese enterprises in broadening their economic and trade ties with China, he said.

He emphasized the goal of comprehensively enhancing the synergy and quality of the entire bluefin tuna industry chain, fostering a dynamic interplay between trade and scientific research, and thereby boosting friendly relations between the two countries.

What travels on the Ocean Star is not simply frozen fish.

It is a chain made physical: the gap between a Mediterranean fishery and a Chinese dinner table, closed by cold storage, regular sailings and a joint venture that has turned a luxury defined by fragility into a product that can move at scale.

Xinhua contributed to this story.