On Feb 2nd and 3rd 2018, Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering and BGI Shenzhen Life Sciences Research Institute signed a strategic cooperation agreement. These two institutes will work together to build a global deep-sea life research highland in Hainan and to support the establishment of Hainan's deep-sea science and technology innovation center.

According to the agreement, the two parties will jointly establish the Deep-Sea Life Research Institute and launch the International Deep-Sea Life Science Program. They will also promote the transformation of marine scientific and technological achievements, and cultivate inter-disciplinary talents in the fields of marine biology and bioinformatics. Chairman of BGI, Dr. Wang Jian said that BGI will provide comprehensive technical support and apply a wide range of genetic technologies to strengthen the deep-sea research. BGI will also fully cooperate with the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to carry out deep-sea biological research projects, establish a world-leading interdisciplinary system for abyssal life, in order to produce original and ground-breaking scientific research results. Prof. Ding Kang, Director of the Institute, said that the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering will exploit its advantages in deep-sea exploration, operation, and sampling, combined with BGI’s world-leading high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics technology, to achieve a rapid and steady development of deep-sea science and technology field in China. This would also have important strategic significance on the discovery and application of Chinese deep-sea resources.