China's Marine Economy Makes Solid Start in Q1 with 5.4% YoY Growth

China’s marine economy has made a sound start in the first quarter of this year, with its total output reaching 2.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. Driven by steady improvement in resource allocation capacity, healthy development of traditional industries and continuous expansion of emerging sectors, the marine economy has shown strong vitality and laid a solid foundation for high-quality development throughout the year.

The capacity of marine resource allocation has been steadily enhanced. Marine crude oil and natural gas output rose by 5.1% and 7.7% year-on-year respectively. The world’s first 20-megawatt offshore wind turbine was connected to the grid for power generation in Fujian waters, with an expected annual power generation of over 800 million kilowatt-hours. CCTV News reported that this turbine, installed more than 30 kilometers offshore with a water depth of over 40 meters, marks a new leap in China’s R&D, manufacturing and offshore construction capabilities for ultra-large capacity wind power units.

In the first quarter, the national output of marine aquatic products increased by 4.3% year-on-year. A total of 589 new marine and island use projects were approved, covering an area of 53,000 hectares and involving an investment of 252.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 35.9%. People’s Daily noted that the growth in marine resource development and related investments has effectively boosted the vitality of the marine economy.

Traditional marine industries have maintained healthy development momentum. The number of newly received orders, completed orders and hand-held orders for marine ships all rose across the board, with China’s international market share remaining leading. Marine transportation industry grew steadily, with marine cargo volume and cargo turnover increasing by 6.8% and 9.4% year-on-year respectively. The total import and export volume by sea rose by 7.2% year-on-year, of which the export volume increased by 8.6%.

Marine tourism also showed an overall positive trend, with offshore passenger volume and passenger turnover increasing by 6.3% and 11.6% year-on-year respectively. Meanwhile, emerging marine industries continued to expand, with the amount of newly received, delivered and hand-held orders for marine engineering equipment rising by 36.4%, 60.0% and 8.9% year-on-year respectively.

China Daily reported that new progress has been made in marine biological products and comprehensive seawater utilization. Alginate oligosaccharide has been approved as a new national food raw material, and the first 100-kilowatt-level industrial direct seawater hydrogen production research project has accumulated 1,000 hours of operation. Marine information services are being accelerated, with the launch of the "Xinghai" multi-scale marine comprehensive dataset and the "Feiyu-1.0" South China Sea air-sea two-way coupling intelligent large model.

Looking ahead, China will continue to optimize the marine industrial layout, stimulate market vitality and promote the steady growth of the marine economy. With the continuous advancement of technological innovation and industrial upgrading, traditional marine industries will be further upgraded, and emerging sectors will release more growth potential, driving the marine economy to achieve higher-quality development.