According to reports from Xinhua News Agency and others, on August 3, the Ministry of Natural Resources released relevant statistical data on the development of China’s marine economy in the first half of this year. The data shows that in the first half of the year, China’s new orders received, completed tonnage, and orders on hand for marine vessels increased by 105.2%, 34.8%, and 37.1% year-on-year respectively, with the global market shares of these three indicators reaching 73.9%, 55.4%, and 63.3% respectively, maintaining a global leading position.
In the first half of the year, the product structure of China’s marine vessels continued to optimize, with delivery levels improving in both quantity and quality. More than 40 vessels of types including large container ships of 10,000 TEU and above, very large crude carriers, and large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers were delivered in the first half of the year. Many shipbuilding enterprises have full production schedules, with some orders scheduled beyond 2029. A batch of high-end vessels were delivered successively, including the world’s first 10,800-car LNG dual-fuel powered vehicle carrier, the world’s first 24,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel powered container ship, and China’s first 740 TEU pure electric intelligent container ship, steadily improving the supply capacity of high-end ship manufacturing.
In the first half of the year, the amount of new orders received for China’s marine engineering equipment increased by 121.9% year-on-year, accounting for more than 80% of the global market share. The marine tourism industry continued to heat up, with marine passenger volume and passenger turnover increasing by 4.6% and 5.4% year-on-year respectively. The marine transportation industry was generally stable, with marine freight volume and cargo turnover increasing by 4.7% and 7.1% year-on-year respectively, and total maritime import and export volume increasing by 6.9% year-on-year, of which export volume increased by 7.8% year-on-year.
The operating conditions of marine-related enterprises improved, and the construction of innovation capabilities continued to advance. Among more than 1,500 marine-related enterprises surveyed by questionnaire, the proportions of enterprises with operating revenue increasing and remaining flat compared with the same period last year in the first half of the year were 38.0% and 32.8% respectively; the proportions of enterprises with average employment increasing and remaining flat compared with the same period last year were 23.8% and 59.7% respectively. The proportions of enterprises holding optimistic and neutral attitudes toward the economic environment in the third quarter were 40.5% and 52.0% respectively. Marine-related enterprises enhanced their independent innovation capabilities by continuously increasing R&D investment, focusing on improving the construction of scientific and technological talent teams and management levels, and accelerating digital transformation. The questionnaire survey results show that in the first half of the year, the proportions of enterprises with R&D expenditure increasing and remaining flat compared with the same period last year were 22.4% and 67.7% respectively; the proportions of enterprises with the number of R&D personnel increasing and remaining flat compared with the same period last year were 14.1% and 78.7% respectively.
Overall, in the first half of this year, China’s marine economy achieved steady growth, with good development momentum and continuously demonstrated development resilience. Preliminary calculations show that the gross ocean product in the first half of the year was 5.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.1% year-on-year.
