The Port of Yantai has business links with more than 70 countries and regions. Photos provided to China Daily

The coastal city of Yantai has seen rapid growth in marine industries since the Shandong Peninsula Marine Economic Zone development program became a part of the nation's overall development strategy in January last year.

"The marine strategy is a great opportunity for the coastal city and sets a new trend for its economic development. We are stepping up eff orts to foster emerging industries and hope to take the lead in developing a marine economy," Yantai Mayor Wang Liang said.

The mayor said the annual revenue from Yantai's marine sectors increased from 54.8 billion yuan to 126.5 billion yuan from 2006 to 2010, an average annual growth rate of 18.2 percent.

Over the last year, marine industry revenue grew by 16.2 percent over 2010 levels and reached 148 billion yuan. Th e industry accounted for around 30 percent of the city's GDP.

Its ports along the Yellow Sea handled a total of 240 million tons of bulk cargo and 1.7 million containers in 2011.

Over the next fi ve years, the city is planning for the further development of its ports and port-related industries, Wang said. Offi cials aim to make it a global center for marine science and technology as well as a regional shipping hub connecting China, Japan and South Korea.

The mayor said Yantai also strives to become a worldclass coastal resort and an ecofriendly city.

Obvious advantages

Yantai has a number of obvious advantages that will allow the city to lead the nation's marine industries.

It has a 900-kilometer coastline, the second-longest coastal area of all of Shandong's cities, and a 26,000-square-kilometer sea area that is nearly twice the size of Yantai’s land area.

Its advantages in terms of ports, coastline, islands, biology and mining mean the city’s marine economy has great potential, Wang said.

Taking advantage of its marine resources, the city has now established a competitive marine industrial system focused on aquaculture, fishing, marine equipment manufacturing, modern logistics as well as ocean energy and minerals.

To date, a total of 500 billion yuan has been allocated to develop a range of oceanrelated projects, including a large-scale production base for marine equipment in Penglai, a research center for nuclear power facilities and a national wind energy base on Changdao Island with an installed capacity of 1 million kilowatts, Wang said.