China is drafting the country's first ever development program for the marine economy in a bid to give a boost to the advancement of "blue economy", according to a senior oceanographic official.

"The newly-drafted national program is expected to come out at the end of this year," said Wei Guoqi, vice-director of the Planning Division of the State Oceanic Administration.

"Meanwhile all coastal provincial regions, as well as related departments such as agriculture and transportation, will submit their 10-year sea-related blueprints before November."

Although it is too early to disclose detailed information of the program, Wei said it will break new ground by producing specific goals for the country's marine economy in five to 10 years.

It will be a "big jump" from the current 2 percent share of gross domestic product (GDP).

"The ultimate goal of the program is to push the progress of the marine economy and encourage coastal regions to develop economies suited to their own conditions and with their own characteristics," said Wei.

China has a 32,000-kilometre-long coastline and conditions vary in different regions.

The so-called marine economy usually covers such sectors as fishing, sea transportation, ports, the salt-making industry, sea-related tourism and shipbuilding.

In the future, the scope of the marine economy will be expanded and all activities related to the sea will be included in the "blue economy," said Wei.

The total output value of China's blue economy increased by about 32 times during the past 20 years, and last year represented about 400 billion yuan (US$48.3 billion), excluding 100 billion yuan (US$12.1 billion) in revenue from domestic tourism.

The program will adjust the distribution of marine-related industries to cope with the availability of marine resources, their exploitation and protection.

It will also aim to upgrade existing industries in the field with improved technology, and establish a high-level supervising system to ensure the completion of these two tasks.

The drafting of the program is being carried out by Wei's bureau and the State Development Planning Commission.

Some coastal local governments have had considerable success with their provincial economic development programs in this field, including those of Liaoning, Shandong, and Guangdong. These laid a solid foundation for the birth of a national program.

(China Daily 08/17/2001)