Xiamen Development Plan to aid its marine economy

XIAMEN: Xiamen, the coastal city of China, is aiming to aid its marine economy in its 14th five-year action plan (2021-2025). The Chinese city is renowned for its tourism and marine activities. Efforts to develop marine sectors in East China’s Fujian province are expected to bring much-needed growth to Xiamen, which will in turn drive the marine economy’s growth. In keeping with the growth initiatives, the municipal government of Xiamen has already brought two significant marine economic development plans to the table. They are also advocating for enhancing Xiamen’s role in bolstering the province’s marine economy.

During the 2020 fiscal calendar, Xiamen experienced emerging marine industries with an added value of 52.44 billion yuan, which is a 4.24 per cent increase year on year. This figure represented a 37.3 per cent increase in the total output value of the city’s marine economy. The plan roadmap depicts a situation in which Xiamen is rushing to develop marine industrial clusters. This would be pushed even farther by encouraging the commercialisation of scientific and technology breakthroughs, speeding up cross-border integration, and rethinking business models.

Moreover, more measures will be taken to speed up the construction of a national demonstration zone for the marine sector in new action plan. Marine biological businesses will be housed in the zone which will also serve as a global supply hub for marine items. Xiamen is gearing up to foster new drivers of growth for its marine economy. The drivers include efforts to transform Xiamen into a Southeast International Shipping Center, works to improve the efficiency of the ocean shipping transportation system and to boost the coastal and marine tourism industry.

With greater standards in place, the city administration has bolstered its efforts by pushing for fundamental research competence, establishing a slew of marine scientific research institutes and putting in place policies to encourage the development of creative marine science and technology. With Xiamen accelerating these areas in order to promote the commercialisation of scientific and technical achievements, the deep integration of industrial and innovation chains has also gotten a push. A high-tech industrial park catering to the marine industry will shortly be built on the outskirts of Xiamen. It is anticipated to accelerate the growth of high-end marine sectors such as marine medicine and biological products, advanced maritime equipment, and innovative marine materials.

According to the plan, Xiamen will become a world-class port, a worldwide coastal tourism city, an ocean cultural exchange centre for Belt and Road Initiative countries and regions, and a global model for marine ecological governance. Xiamen’s significance as a global marine centre will be transformed as a result of the city development plan. By the year 2035, the efforts focused towards this project are predicted to have greatly progressed.