Xiamen city boosts high-quality maritime development
The Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Ocean Development will make every effort to expand its emerging maritime sector, in order to promote the high-quality development of the overall maritime industry.
Those remarks were made by Zeng Dongsheng, Director General of Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Ocean Development, contained in his report published in the Xiamen Daily on Feb 11.
During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), Xiamen's maritime economy maintained rapid growth, with the scale continuing to expand. In 2020, the total maritime GDP was 140.5 billion yuan ($22.1 billion), accounting for 22 percent of the city's GDP.
In particular, emerging maritime industries developed well, while the physical expansion of Xiamen's overall marine industries continued. Xiamen also received recognition, such as being made a national demonstration city for the innovative development of the marine economy.
The city's maritime GDP is projected to reach 300 billion yuan by 2025, accounting for 30 percent of the city's total GDP. In the meantime, the layout of marine economic development is predicted to further expand, so that Xiamen becomes an international ocean city.
Based on the construction of its high-tech marine industrial park, Gaoqi fishing port and Oucuo Fishery Base, Xiamen is set to incubate an important marine strategic emerging industry cluster on the southeast coast of China.
Plans are for the high-tech marine industrial park to complete construction in five years, with a series of projects and corporate ocean headquarters being located in Xiamen. The Gaoqi fishing port will be upgraded and refashioned into a beautiful one. It is expected that the Oucuo Fishery Base will promote the construction of a cross-Straits and high-end seafood products trading center that will function on the regional and national levels.
In addition, Xiamen will gradually establish a technological innovation system and a modern industrial system. In it, enterprises will play the leading role, the market will be the guide, and enterprises, universities and research institutes will be deeply integrated.
It will focus on the emerging maritime industry, the marine high-end equipment and materials industry, the maritime information industry and the smart ocean new economy, as well as on the headquarters economy.
The system will also promote a mechanism for coordinated innovation between government, industry, universities, research institutes, investments and applications and the establishment of a new innovation carrier.
Plans are for Xiamen to also explore the connotations of maritime culture, innovate the popularization of marine science education and foster maritime research industries, as well as actively expand space for international maritime cooperation.
Last but not least, it will strictly fulfill the responsibilities for novel coronavirus epidemic prevention and controls at sea, safeguard maritime security and stability and observe maritime production safety standards.