Deeply cultivating the "Azure" focuses on weaving a tighter safety net

How can AI and technological independence break through key marine shortfalls?

The Ministry of Natural Resources released the “2025 China Marine Economy Statistical Bulletin,” showing that by 2025, the national marine gross domestic product will reach 11,018 billion yuan, including a marine manufacturing value-added of 3,523 billion yuan, a 6.8% increase over the previous year, surpassing the growth rate of marine GDP by 1.3 percentage points, with its supporting role in marine economic growth continuously emerging. The ocean is a strategic high ground for high-quality development, and the marine economy has become the “blue engine” driving national economic growth.

For many years, China’s marine economy has achieved remarkable results. In terms of industrial scale, traditional industries are accelerating transformation and upgrading, the capacity to supply marine oil and gas resources continues to strengthen, the total volume of aquatic products has ranked first globally for consecutive years, port sizes remain the largest in the world, maritime volume and container throughput both exceed one-third of the global total, and the market share of ships and marine engineering equipment accounts for over half of the global market. In terms of industrial structure, emerging industries are growing stronger, marine engineering equipment manufacturing is accelerating recovery, and innovations in marine pharmaceuticals and biological products are emerging rapidly. In terms of development momentum, marine technological innovation is gaining speed, the value-added of marine engineering equipment manufacturing increased by 10.2%, and offshore wind power grid-connected capacity grew by over 60% year-on-year; breakthroughs have been made in building a “blue pharmacy” database, with China establishing over 43k marine microbial genomes and 2.4 billion gene sequences.

However, some risks and challenges cannot be ignored. Currently, the external security environment is becoming increasingly complex, with a few developed countries using technical barriers and trade restrictions to suppress China’s marine technology and related industries. Key core technologies still have gaps, and some high-end instruments and critical components depend on imports. Meanwhile, the resilience of the industrial chain faces tests, with shipping channels obstructed and resource access limited, among other issues. The “Government Work Report” this year proposed strengthening overall planning for major bays and making the marine industry stronger, better, and larger. In the future, it is necessary to adhere to coordinated development and security, uphold systemic thinking, weave a dense protective network, and deeply cultivate the “blue” domain.

Strengthen technological independence and self-reliance, and solidify the foundation for safe development. Scientific and technological innovation is an important driver of development and a crucial safeguard for national security. Focus on key areas such as deep-sea exploration, marine observation and forecasting, underwater communication, and intelligent equipment, and make breakthroughs in key technologies like unmanned equipment, underwater sensing and navigation, and pressure-resistant materials. Rely on strategic scientific and technological forces to enhance the continuous supply capacity for deep-sea knowledge and key common technologies. Increase the localization rate of key facilities and equipment, explore a “task listing and leadership” model with enterprises as the main body, and promote the domestic replacement of marine equipment and core components. Accelerate the transformation of marine scientific and technological achievements, and smooth the “last mile” from laboratory to industrialization.

Enhance industrial chain resilience and improve resistance to external risks. Improve the development system and mechanisms for key industrial chains, and establish risk assessment and response mechanisms for supply chain security. For weak links in the industrial chain, implement projects to strengthen, supplement, and extend the chain. Map key marine industrial chains, identify critical “breakpoints” and risk points, organize coordinated breakthroughs, and develop autonomous and controllable capabilities at key links. Leverage the radiation-driven roles of world-class port clusters such as the Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and Bohai Rim, and promote the formation of a “core R&D, surrounding manufacturing, cloud-based services” spatial layout, enhancing the resilience of the industrial system. Improve multimodal transportation and hinterland corridor systems, increase redundancy and emergency switching capabilities at key nodes, and strengthen the ability to maintain smooth transportation during emergencies. Plan the construction of future marine industry clusters, and encourage provinces and cities with conditions to develop marine life sciences, artificial intelligence, and other fields.

Optimize institutional opening-up and expand space for safe development. Accelerate the construction of a system aligned with high-standard international rules, making breakthroughs in intellectual property rights protection, cross-border data flow, green trade standards, and other areas. Rely on open platforms such as Hainan Free Trade Port and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to pilot policies facilitating cross-border marine data flow. Innovate “blue finance” support systems, promote marine asset mortgages, intellectual property pledges, and other financing models, and provide full lifecycle financial support for marine technology enterprises. Improve risk warning and response mechanisms for foreign-related intellectual property rights, and establish overseas intellectual property rights protection and assistance centers.

Build an integrated land-sea governance system to counter external shocks through regional coordination. Improve the land-sea integrated and river-lake joint governance ecological framework, implement refined management policies for “one bay, one policy,” and support economic security through ecological safety. Within and between the three major marine economic zones, establish cross-provincial and municipal coordination frameworks, promote planning alignment, infrastructure connectivity, industrial collaboration, and environmental co-governance. Guide coastal areas to pursue differentiated development paths, with core cities focusing on original innovation, regional centers strengthening application R&D and industrial services, forming a dislocated and complementary industrial ecosystem. (Source: Economic Daily, Authors: Zhang Yutong, Liu Shuguang)