The Chinese Academy of Sciences Innovation Academy for Microsatellites and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology have opened the Sino-Portuguese  Space and Sea Technology Advanced Research Laboratory, or STARlab, the Xinmin Evening News reports.

The director of the academy, Zhang Yonghe, said STARlab, an outcome of the Chinese Belt and Road initiative, would develop technology to monitor the health of marine ecosystems and environmental processes deep under the sea, the Chinese state-owned newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The report quotes another leading figure at the academy, Lin Baojun, as saying at the opening on Tuesday that the lab will be fully accessible to Portuguese universities and research institutions for cooperative endeavours. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology gave its approval for the establishment of STARlab in August, the Xinmin Evening News says.