China's marine economy continues to expand rapidly, playing an essential role in energy and water supplies, and food security, with notable advancements in marine technology, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Recent data underscores the critical role of offshore oil and gas production in China's energy sector. Offshore oil accounts for over 60 percent of the national increase in crude output. Meanwhile, China leads the world in offshore wind power, accounting for over 50 percent of the global installed capacity.
Water produced by desalination is set to exceed 400 million tons, while industrial seawater usage is projected to top 180 billion tons.
The production of China's marine products continues to grow steadily, maintaining the position of the world's top producer for 35 consecutive years.
The country also dominates more than 50 percent of the global shipbuilding and offshore equipment markets, with ocean freight volume and container throughput exceeding one-third of the global total, fueling global economic growth.
"The marine economy is progressing steadily, with positive factors continuing to accumulate. Marine resources are being effectively secured, corporate operations and expectations remain stable, technological innovation is making significant strides, and international sea trade has grown steadily," said Feng Lei, deputy director of the Ocean Strategic Planning and Economic Department at the Ministry of Natural Resources.
China's marine science and technology are advancing rapidly. Notable milestones include the entry into service of the "Mengxiang" (Dream) vessel -- China's first domestically built drilling ship, the commencement of operations at the Qinling Station in Antarctica, and the widespread application of the Mass Conservation Ocean Model (MaCOM1.0) -- a core tool for ocean forecasting and scientific research.
"The integration of digital technology into the marine economy is crucial for efficiently managing marine resources in an integrated manner and driving their high-quality development. Coastal provinces are focusing on developing emerging marine industries such as smart fisheries, smart ports, and smart shipping, elevating traditional marine industries to new levels of intelligence," said Zhang Ping, director of the Marine Economy and Technology Research Office at the China Institute for Marine Affairs (CIMA) under the Ministry of Natural Resources.
China’s marine sector thrives amid technological advancements
China is accelerating the commercialization of marine scientific and technological achievements and fostering new quality productive forces by boosting support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the marine sector, with a focus on investment and financing to drive industry growth.
The development of marine industries is marked by substantial investments, high risks, and slow returns. However, with strong national support, some companies, such as Zhejiang Startest Marine Science and Technology Co., Ltd. in east China, have achieved notable success.
The company is a national high-tech enterprise specializing in the independent research and development of underwater sonar detection equipment and underwater information data systems.
It now holds more than 210 intellectual property rights for its designs.
"We are now fully capable of replacing similar foreign imported products with our own ones, thereby overcoming the bottleneck in production caused by foreign product embargoes," said Su Xiaoyang, president of Zhejiang Startest Marine Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
While some marine SMEs, such as Shenzhen HiCloud Data Center Technology Co., Ltd., China's first underwater data center equipment and service provider, have mastered core technologies, a gap remains compared to international standards. As a result, continuous investment is necessary for them to overcome critical technological challenges.
"The Underwater Data Center Pilot Project is a new infrastructure initiative requiring a significant initial investment and scale effects. However, both users and investors in the market still lack a comprehensive understanding of the project's strategic significance, including the technical risks associated with emerging technologies," said Pu Ding, general manager of the Underwater Data Center Pilot Project in Hainan under Shenzhen HiCloud Data Center Technology Co., Ltd.
To address the challenges faced by marine SMEs in securing investment and financing, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), along with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, has organized a series of roadshows since 2016. Over 200 marine SMEs and innovation teams have participated, securing more than 3 billion yuan (around 409.8 million U.S. dollars) in financing.
In addition to these efforts, the MNR, in collaboration with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, launched China Ocean Economy Stock Price Index in 2024, covering 20 marine and related industries.
"This is the first domestic comprehensive index in the marine sector, covering all the markets of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Hong Kong. It provides timely insights into the operational performance of listed companies in the marine industry and plays an important role in promoting the efficient allocation of financial capital to the marine real economy," said Feng Lei, deputy director of the Ocean Strategic Planning and Economic Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Small marine firms accelerate commercialization of sci-tech achievements under greater policy support
