Rizhao Port in Shandong province. [Photo/IC] 

Shandong province has been ramping up efforts to become a maritime powerhouse. Its gross marine product increased from 1.27 trillion yuan ($177.57 billion) in 2018 to 1.63 trillion yuan in 2022, accounting for 18.6 percent of the province's GDP and securing its position as the second largest maritime power in the country.

During the first three quarters of this year, its gross marine product increased by 6.3 percent year-on-year, contributing 22.1 percent to the province's overall economic growth.

Shandong is speeding up progress in the development of world-class sea ports, a well-established modern maritime industrial system, and a green and sustainable marine ecological environment.

The province is committed to strengthening its modern marine industry. It has identified the modern marine industry as one of the province's "top 10" industrial clusters and issued specific plans for the development of marine engineering equipment, marine fisheries, marine tourism, marine technology, and other related fields during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

A number of major provincial-level projects have been implemented, yielding positive results. The Shidao Bay nuclear power project has been approved by the State Council, and construction on the first phase of the Yulong Island integrated refining and chemical project is now underway. The comprehensive pilot project for the construction of modern marine ranches has shown significant progress.

In 2019, Shandong established the massive Shandong Port Group, integrating the major ports in the province, including Qingdao Port, Yantai Port and Rizhao Port, in a bid to build a world-class port cluster.

In 2022, the total cargo throughput of ports in Shandong reached 1.89 billion metric tons, ranking first among all coastal provinces in the country. In the first three quarters of this year, port cargo throughput increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year, while container throughput increased by 10.8 percent year-on-year.