China’s National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources of China recently released the China Marine Economy Development Report 2025. The Report reviews the progress of China’s marine economy at both national and regional levels in 2024, highlighting steady expansion, industrial restructuring, and technological innovation across the sector.
In 2024, China’s marine gross domestic product (GDP) reached around €1.28 trillion , reflecting continuous growth in scale. Over the past year, the restructuring of marine industries accelerated, marine science and technology innovation capabilities were significantly strengthened, and the efficient utilization of marine resources continued to improve. Efforts in marine ecological protection, restoration, early warning, and monitoring produced positive outcomes, while openness and cooperation in the marine economy deepened further.
Coastal regions actively explored marine resource potential, maintained strong economic vitality, and accelerated the development of regional marine economies, achieving notable progress in establishing key growth poles. The three major marine economic zones—Northern, Eastern, and Southern—continued to expand their capacity.
The Northern Marine Economic Zone advanced the transformation from old to new growth drivers, the Eastern Zone achieved initial success in integrated marine economic development, and the Southern Zone made new progress in deep-sea development and conservation. In 2024, the marine GDP of the three zones reached €387.8 billion, €405.7 billion, and €459.3 billion respectively, representing nominal growth rates of 33.1%, 37.7%, and 33.3% compared with 2020.
Marine power provinces and modern maritime cities also accelerated their development. Shandong strengthened its marine science and technology leadership and launched the world’s fastest supercomputer, Sunway Ocean Light. Zhejiang’s port integration reform unleashed new growth potential, with Ningbo-Zhoushan Port recording its highest container throughput growth in seven years.
Meishan Port Area surpassed 10 million TEUs for the first time, joining Chuanshan Port Area to form the world’s only dual ten-million-TEU-class container terminal cluster. Guangdong began forming large-scale industrial clusters worth hundreds of billions of yuan in offshore engineering equipment and offshore wind power. Major projects such as the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge opening, the commissioning of the ocean-going drilling vessel Dream in Guangzhou, and the successful trial operation of the world’s first megawatt-scale seawater electrolysis hydrogen production facility further strengthened the province’s marine industrial base.
Modern maritime cities leveraged their unique advantages to build new centers for marine economic growth. Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Qingdao enhanced their international maritime competitiveness, while Tianjin, Dalian, Ningbo, and Xiamen deepened their strengths in marine industries, achieving breakthroughs in port-industry-city integration, marine fisheries, modern shipping services, and marine pharmaceuticals. Cities such as Qinhuangdao, Lianyungang, Beihai, and Sanya promoted distinctive marine development by building high-quality marine tourism destinations and showcasing harmonious coexistence between people and the sea.
Demonstration zones for marine economic development also advanced innovative practices. Sixteen such zones achieved remarkable results through key demonstration projects. Tianjin established China’s first domestically produced seawater desalination production line, and Weihai’s Shawo Island National Offshore Fisheries Base achieved a return rate of over 90% for self-caught aquatic products.
Rizhao operated 38 sea-rail intermodal freight trains, while Qingdao Blue Valley released the “Hanhai Xingyun” large model with parameters reaching the hundred-billion level. Lianyungang launched 911 China-Europe freight trains, up 13% year-on-year, and Yancheng was recognized as a Biodiversity 100+ Global Special Recommendation Case.
Shanghai’s Chongming District delivered the world’s first 14,000m³ river-sea direct LNG bunkering vessel, independently constructed in China. Ningbo completed China’s first blue carbon auction, and Wenzhou guided private capital into strategic sectors such as deep-sea energy development and high-end marine equipment.
Fuzhou built the nation’s first county-level marine carbon sink trading service platform, and Xiamen established the world’s largest deep-sea microbial strain repository. Shenzhen’s marine enterprises secured more than 82,000 invention patents, while Zhanjiang developed a modern port-based industrial system focusing on green steel, petrochemicals, and energy.
Beihai promoted the development of border port industrial parks and the China-ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Zone, and Lingshui advanced projects highlighting the cultural and tourism charm of the Tanka fishing community. Hunchun maintained stable operations of the “Hunchun-Europe” freight train service, contributing to cross-border marine economic connectivity.
Source: ycwb, xinhua, sina finance, gov cn
