[photopress:logistics_China_ship.jpg,full,alignright]China’s seas contributed RMB2.49 trillion ($347 billion), or 10%, of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year.
A report, issued by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), said the value of marine industries, including fishing, transport, oil and gas, tourism and shipbuilding, grew 15% year on year, more than the economy as a whole.
The marine industry employed 31.5 million people last year, 1.9 million more than in 2006.
SOA spokesman Li Haiqing said the main pillars of the rapid growth were the traditional industries of transport, tourism and fishing, which accounted for more than 80% of total output value.
Emerging industries also grew quickly. For example, the oceanic biological pharmaceutical industry, which generated more than RMB4 billion last year, was up more than 37%.
With the launch in November of the first offshore wind power station, funded and run by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, the sector generated RMB500 million, up 17% year on year.
The gross production value in the Bohai Bay Rim Area was more than RMB954 billion, accounting for 38% of total output of the marine sector. Similarly, the gross production of the Yangtze River Delta region amounted to about RMB775 billion, or about 31% of the total output.
Source: English East Day