China will step up efforts to promote the high-quality development of its marine economy by strengthening integrated planning across its major bays, a senior official from the

Ministry of Natural Resources said Tuesday.

Shen Jun, an official with the ministry, said China’s extensive coastline — spanning more than 18,000 kilometers and encompassing hundreds of bays such as Bohai Bay, Hangzhou Bay and the Beibu Gulf — holds strategic importance for the country’s economic and ecological development.

“These bays are not only key engines of coastal economic activity, but also repositories of rich maritime culture and areas of critical ecological value,” Shen said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

According to Shen, China aims to promote coordinated land-sea development through top-level planning and integrated management, with the goal of creating a new model for high-quality growth in the marine economy.

The marine sector has emerged as an increasingly important pillar of the national economy. Data show that in the first three quarters of 2025, China’s gross ocean product reached 7.9 trillion yuan (approximately 1.12 trillion U.S. dollars), representing a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent.

Looking ahead, Shen said China will focus on achieving breakthroughs in core marine technologies, fostering strategic emerging industries such as seawater desalination and marine biomedicine, and strengthening marine disaster prevention, ecological protection and conservation efforts. Photo by 三猎, Wikimedia commons.