The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) concluded in 2024, after 11 successful years of study. The international marine research collaboration explored the history and dynamics of Earth, using ocean-going research platforms to retrieve data recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks, and monitor the subseafloor environment. Since its inception in 1968, IODP has played a major role in advancing human understanding of climate and ocean change and Earth's history and dynamics.

　　China joined IODP in 1998 and carried out the first deep-sea scientific drilling in Chinese waters in 1999, achieving many innovative results, including the long cycle of climate evolution. Since then, it has conducted three drillings in the South China Sea under the Matching Proposal Project, opening up a new research perspective on the evolution mechanism of marginal seas.

　　With the completion of the trial voyage of China's first domestically built drilling ship Mengxiang in December 2023, China officially became the third country in the world to have its own professional ocean drilling ship, also known as the aircraft carrier of marine science.

　　With a world-leading marine drilling capacity, the ship will drill through Earth's crust and into the upper mantle, contributing to the study of Earth's history and dynamics. The mantle, which accounts for four-fifths of Earth's volume and three-quarters of its mass, is full of scientific mysteries waiting to be explored by scientists.

　　According to Tuo Shouting, director of the IODP-China Office, China has already established an IODP-China Executive Science (2025-2035), and the completion of Mengxiang will provide key equipment support for future China-led expeditions.

　　China-initiated ocean drilling will greatly enhance the country's innovation capabilities in deep-sea scientific research and observation and intelligent equipment development.