BEIJING, Jan. 18 -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng extended warm greetings and Spring Festival wishes to the people undertaking scientific expeditions in polar and ocean regions when speaking with them via satellite video link from Beijing on Wednesday.

After listening to representatives of the research icebreaker Xuelong, the country's Zhongshan Station and Great Wall Station in the Antarctic region, and the research vessel Dayang, Han said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council have always attached great importance to scientific research in polar and ocean regions.

China has made remarkable progress in deep-sea and polar scientific research, and significantly enhanced its capability to understand, protect and utilize both deep-sea and polar regions, Han said.

The majority of people working in polar and ocean regions have overcome various difficulties and made important contributions to the development of the country's deep-sea and polar scientific research, he said.

Han encouraged the expedition members to achieve even more and make more breakthroughs to contribute to humanity's scientific understanding and peaceful use of polar and ocean regions.