Xi Focus: Steering China toward a strong maritime country(1)

BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- World Oceans Day that falls on Wednesday this year provides an opportunity for countries around the world to celebrate the importance of the ocean and to ponder how to interact with it in a sustainable manner.

With a coastline stretching around 32,000 km, China has had its past and future entwined with the ocean. In President Xi Jinping's words, building China into a strong maritime country is a "major strategic task for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."

Over the past decade, this maritime undertaking has remained high on the agenda of Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Back in 2013, Xi told the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee at a study session that a robust marine economy underpins the building of a strong maritime nation. He called for efforts to make better use of marine resources and develop the marine economy into a new growth driver.

Xi's vision is materializing as he steers the blue economy toward prosperity, with the size of the country's marine economy exceeding 9 trillion yuan (about 1.35 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2021, a surge from 5 trillion yuan in 2012. It contributed 8 percent to the growth of GDP last year, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

New marine industries are speeding down the fast lane thanks to China's endeavors to ride the wave of technological innovation. Between 2016 and 2020, emerging industries including seawater desalination, marine energy and marine biopharmaceutics saw their growth in added value average more than 11 percent annually.