Beijing, Oct 31. (Xinhua/GNA) – China’s gross ocean product reached 8.5 trillion yuan (about 1.27 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of this year, up 4.9 per cent year on year, according to data released by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The marine economy maintained steady growth, with an improved structure, stronger resilience and growing momentum, moving toward innovative and high-quality development, the ministry said.
In the first three quarters, the country’s offshore crude oil output rose 3.5 per cent year on year, and the output of seawater aquatic products rose 4.6 per cent year on year.
In terms of traditional marine industries, new shipbuilding orders, completed orders and order backlogs rose 98.5 per cent, 35 per cent and 41.9 per cent year on year, respectively; meanwhile, China maintained its lead in global market share. Coastal port cargo throughput and container throughput rose 1.6 per cent and 4.7 per cent, respectively.
Emerging marine industries improved in both quality and efficiency. In particular, the value of new orders for marine engineering equipment surged 123.3 per cent year on year, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the global market.
The seawater desalination and comprehensive utilisation industry made new progress, with the combined capacity of newly launched desalination projects this year exceeding 520,000 tonnes per day.
China’s marine tourism maintained stable growth in the first three quarters, the ministry said.
Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said marine tourism was characterised by strong experiential attributes, high technological content, and extensive industry linkages.
GNA