LOS ANGELES: The municipal government of Qingdao, a city located along the east coast of China in Shandong province, has recently issued a new set of criteria for the development of its marine economy, with the goal of becoming the pioneer and leader in the transformation of the country's maritime economy as well as serving as a model for other coastal cities and regions to follow and emulate.
Qingdao proposes to speed up the conversion of the economic model through the launch of 44 demonstration projects that showcase innovation in an ocean-based economy. The city has a list of goals that it plans to achieve by 2020:
•attain an average annual growth rate of Gross Marine Product (GMP) exceeding 10%;
•develop a GMP that accounts for over 30% of the city's GDP;
•develop a GMP per capita in excess of 32,000 yuan (approx. $US 4,900);
•attain a production value in emerging strategic marine industries that exceeds 100 billion yuan (approx. $US 15 billion) and grows by approx. 15% annually on average;
•allocate not less than 3.2% of GDP to overall R&D expenditure;
•develop a marine biological industry, the output value of which exceeds 30 billion yuan (approx. $US 4.5 billion) with an average annual growth rate above 15%; and,
•develop a high-end marine equipment industry, the output value of which reaches 70 billion yuan (approx. $US 11 billion) with an average annual growth over 10%.
From now till 2020, Qingdao plans to aggressively expand the breadth and scope of the city's industrial portfolio with a focus on innovative marine-based drugs, biomedical materials, functional foods and biological products for agricultural use while speeding up construction of an end-to-end emerging marine industry chain and enhancing the industry's competitiveness. The city can be expected to give priority to marine drug screening and evaluation, marine biological genetic resources exploration and utilization, process technology support for new type preparations, deep sea biological resources exploitation and utilization, marine biological materials development and utilization as well as support for the construction of a public service platform with the ultimate goal of developing an internationally advanced marine development center and maritime equipment manufacturing base. At the same time, three designated areas in and around Qingdao - China Blue Valley, Qingdao West Coast New Area, and Hongdao Economic Zone - will serve as a composite national demonstration area for marine economic development.
