'City of prawns' has long striven to be commercial powerhouse, and trade fair expected to be major step toward that goal

Zhanjiang in Guangdong province has long striven to become a maritime powerhouse in China, with its economic growth closely tied to its ocean industries - and the upcoming China Marine Economy Expo is expected to be a major step toward that goal.

The expo, which takes place from Nov 22 to 25, has been a prominent aspect of city life since it settled in Zhanjiang in 2014.

With abundant ocean resources and geographical advantages, Zhanjiang in Guangdong province aims to grow into a major pivot of the modern coastal economic belt in Guangdong. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The expo has played a leading role in serving the implementation of several national strategies, such as the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, civil-military integration and coordinated development of the region's economy, and also in promoting Zhanjiang to build a modern economic system and pursue high-quality development.

The city, surrounded by the sea on three sides, has an ocean area of about 20,000 square kilometers, a coastal line stretching 2,023 kilometers and more than 130 islands.

In 2016, Zhanjiang was approved as one of the country's first batch of marine economy innovative development pilots and received a special fund worth 300 million yuan ($43.17 million).

Last year, the total output of the city's maritime industry reached 154.6 billion yuan, up 15.2 percent year-on-year.

The sector also attracted a group of projects invested in by leading Chinese and overseas companies, including German chemical giant BASF, Chinese steel manufacturing group Baosteel, China National Of shore Oil Corporation and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, which have offered a solid industrial basis for the city to develop a modern coastal economic belt, said Jiang Jianjun, mayor of Zhanjiang and director of the expo's preparatory committee.

Statistics from the Zhanjiang Ocean and Fishery Bureau showed that the city's total output value in the fishery economy hit 44.5 billion yuan in 2017, with many major economic indicators ranking the city first in Guangdong.

Known as "a city of prawns", Zhanjiang is an important prawn feeding center in China, leading the nation in terms of cultured area, output, processing and exports.

It is home to 206 companies engaged in exporting aquatic products, the most of any city in the province.

The city in recent years has issued several policies to boost marine economic growth. Leading the pack is the Zhanjiang Blue Ocean Comprehensive Development Plan (2017-2020), which is intended to increase the city's total output value in the marine economy to 220 billion yuan by 2020 by enhancing the related infrastructure construction and optimizing the structure of the maritime industry.

Innovation is a key driver for sustainable industrial development.

On July 9, the Zhanjiang Micro-Innovation and Marine Sci-Tech Industry Innovation Center was inaugurated after more than two years of planning and construction, covering a total floor area of 280,000 square meters and with an investment of 780 million yuan.

The complex has attracted the TusKspace incubator and four high-end research and development institutions - a maritime advanced materials research center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a maritime biotech innovation center from Sun Yat-sen University, a maritime medicine research institute of Guangdong Medical University and the Guangdong (Zhanjiang) Academy of Sciences.

One-stop services are available for companies in the center, including financing, resource sharing and business matchmaking.

The Chinese investment group Tus-Holdings is responsible for the center's operation and management. Set up in 2000, Tus-Holdings has accumulated a wealth of experience in the planning, construction and management of science and innovation parks, with a high-quality management team.

Zheng Renhao, Party chief of Zhanjiang, said the city is rich in maritime resources and boasts bright prospects for high-tech development. The center should fully capitalize on the city's strengths in the maritime industry and try to establish itself as a beacon of innovation in the sector, Zheng said.

The government should focus more on building industrial platforms, serving the talents, providing complete supporting facilities and improving the business environment, he added.

The marine economy has also become a new economic growth pillar in Guangdong province overall, officials said. According to the province's Natural Resources Department, the gross ocean product of Guangdong ranked first in China for 23 consecutive years, increasing from 1.05 trillion yuan in 2012 to 1.78 trillion yuan in 2017.