February 23, 2004

Added Value of China's Marine Economy Rises 9.4% in 2003

The added value of China's marine economy rose 9.4 percent to 445.55 billion yuan (nearly US$54 billion) in 2003, according to statistics recently released by the State Oceanic Administration.

China's marine economy, accounting for 3.8 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), kept a faster growth rate than the national economy, statistics showed. The total production of the country's marine economy in 2003 hit a record high of 1.0078 trillion yuan.

The added value of the primary industry including oceanic fishery reached 130.28 billion yuan in 2003, up 6.4 percent, and that of the second industry including oceanic oil-gas and ship-making industrial sectors jumped 46.5 percent to 122.19 billion yuan.

The added value of the third industrial sector dropped 3.8 percent to 193.09 billion yuan due to negative impact of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) on seaside tourism.

The total marine economy of the Yangtze Delta economic zone, topping all other Chinese economic zones, exceeded 300 billion yuan for the first time.

Statistics showed that China's marine economy is above the average level of all oceanic nations. China's sea salt production has retained the top position in the world, and the oceanic fishery production also jumped to the world's first.

China's ship-building ranks the third globally, and the possession of merchant ships ranks the fifth, according to statistics.

China's marine production per capita is still very limited, and problems such as oceanic pollution, unreasonable marine industry structure and imbalance of regional marine economy growth still exist, said Wang Hong, an official with the State Oceanic Administration.

Last year, China issued its first special marine economic development program aimed at boosting its marine industries. According to the blueprint, the marine economy is expected to contribute over five percent of the country's GDP by the year 2010.