Qingdao is a coastal city with rich marine resources. [Photo/WeChat account: qd12301]

This year, Qingdao put greater emphasis on advancing ocean development within the overall development framework.

The city is spearheading a modern ocean industry system with scientific and technological innovation, accelerating the cultivation of new marine productivity, creating a modern hub for ocean economic development, and propelling the construction of a leading modern ocean city to new heights.

Local statistics showed that in the first three quarters of this year, the city's total marine production value reached 402.65 billion yuan ($55.38 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent.

All related to maritime, there were 143 innovation platforms at the provincial level or above, 3,100 large enterprises, and 638 tech companies. In the first half of this year, the city's ocean-related technology transactions increased by 186.7 percent year-on-year.

This year, the city has been expediting the establishment of a distinctive ocean industry system. In the first three quarters of this year, 140 key marine projects attracted investments totaling 32.8 billion yuan, with a construction commencement rate of 95 percent. Additionally, 132 new marine projects were signed with a total investment of 83.2 billion yuan.

Efforts have also been made to fast track a marine artificial intelligence industrial cluster. Twenty large-scale ocean artificial intelligence models, such as Hanhai Xingyun and Wenhai, have been released or are under development. The city is home to 23 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering who are involved in marine-related research. The total number of marine-related professionals in the city is close to 400,000, with a total of 1.03 million people engaged in marine commerce.