(CFP Photo)
Jiangsu's gross ocean product grew 7.4% year on year to 904.62 billion yuan in 2022, accounting for 7.4% of the province's GDP and 9.6% of China's marine economy, according to a report released by the province's Department of Natural Resources.
The value added of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries reached 28.95 billion yuan, 376.71 billion yuan, and 498.96 billion yuan, respectively.
The transportation, shipbuilding and engineering equipment manufacturing are Jiangsu's most competitive sectors in the marine economy nationwide.
In 2022, Jiangsu invested 14.81 billion yuan in port construction, adding 31 berths for vessels over 10,000 tonnes and increasing container throughput by 3.38 million TEUs. The coastal and river ports handled 2.66 billion tonnes of cargo and 22.732 million TEUs in 2022, representing 2.1% and 8.3% increase over the previous year, respectively.
Jiangsu is China's number one province in shipbuilding and marine engineering, with industries mainly located in Nantong, Taizhou, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang cities. In 2022, the province completed the construction of 325 vessels with a total of 17.433 million deadweight tonnes (dwt), an increase of 6.1% year on year. The province's shipbuilding output accounted for 21.8% and 46.0% of the world and domestic market, respectively.
The report also indicated that the added value of the province's marine industry, marine research and education, and marine public management services reached 341.56 billion yuan, 55.75 billion yuan, and 141.72 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%, 9.0%, and 6.1%, respectively. The strong growth reflected dynamic technological innovation and increased market vitality in marine product reprocessing.
Jiangsu also made progress in enhancing technological innovation mechanism in 2022. For example, Nantong and Yancheng signed agreements with the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute to speed up the application of scientific and technological achievements in key areas such as marine engineering and offshore wind power.
Another highlight is the rise of strategic emerging marine industries. Data showed the marine engineering equipment manufacturing, marine medicine and biological products industry, and marine power sectors all expanded by more than 10% year on year. Offshore wind power generation reached 30.09 billion kilowatt hours, an increase of 62.2% over the previous year, the fastest growth among marine economy sectors. Offshore wind power generation also accounted for 58.7% of the province's total wind power generation, the highest proportion in China.
The province continued to protect marine resources in 2022, with ecological restoration carried out in 34.62 hectares of sea areas, 5.85 kilometers of coastline, and 23.4 hectares of wetlands.
Additionally, Jiangsu actively expanded the development of marine fisheries, promoted mariculture in the deep sea, improved the supply of green and quality seafood. The province's annual mariculture and marine fishing production totaled 1.35 million tonnes, an increase of 4.3% over the previous year.
