The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province witnessed rapid growth in its marine economy in the first half of this year, said local officials.

According to preliminary accounting, the gross ocean production in Qingdao from January to June grew by 21.9 percent year-on-year, while the city's ocean-related fixed asset investment grew by 15.1 percent year-on-year.

Qingdao aims to become a global maritime hub. [Photo/IC]

At the beginning of this year, Qingdao made it clear that building a global marine hub would be the overall goal of the city's marine development in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period as well as in the next 10 to 15 years. The city has launched a slew of measures and policies to attract investment and facilitate cooperation to develop its ocean-based economy.

In the first half of this year, Qingdao added 75 new projects to the marine field, a year-on-year increase of 29, which will bring in investments worth 41.95 billion yuan ($6.48 billion).

The city is also promoting the construction of a number of facilities related to marine biomedicine, ocean engineering, sea water desalination, marine fishery, ports logistics and other fields.

A shipbuilding base in Qingdao West Coast New Area [Photo/IC]

With a coastline that is 817 kilometers long, the city has abundant oceanic resources. The city's sea area, which is around 12,240 square kilometers, 1,000 times more than its land area, is rich in fish, shrimp, shellfish, kelp and seaweed.

The city is also at the forefront of marine science and technology and home to more than 30 percent of the country's academicians in those fields. It is home to 40 percent of the nation's high-end marine research facilities and 50 percent of China's world-leading marine technologies.