China's Maritime Economy Approaches $1 Trillion
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Total maritime output or maritime economy of China is expected to generate nearly 6.5 trillion yuan (988.79 billion U.S. dollar) in 2015, about 7 percent more than 2014, reports Xinhua.
State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said that the total production value last year is expected to account for 9.6 percent of the total gross domestic product (GDP).
The maritime economy has become an important boost to the national economy, with its total production value growing by an average 8.1 percent annually from 2011 to 2015.
The industry employed more than 35 million people and maritime science and technology contributed to 60 percent of the maritime economy, the SOA figures show.
SOA director Wang Hong said that to speed up maritime economic development, the government plans to coordinate the construction of high-tech and innovation industrial bases and demonstration zones, and foster emerging industries including marine biomedicine, high-end marine facilities and sea water desalination this year.
The SOA will also push to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies concerning maritime industries and advance industrial upgrades in the next five years, he said.