On November 22, the sixth China Marine Economy Expo (CMEE), jointly held by the government of Guangdong and China’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), kicked off in Zhanjiang, a coastal city of Guangdong, China. Guangdong’s provincial governor Ma Xingrui declared the Expo open, and Wang Hong, member of the party leadership group of the MNR and director-general of the State Oceanic Administration, addressed the event.
Wang Hong said that over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, China has continuously enhanced its marine resources development and utilization and ecological environmental protection capabilities, improved its scientific and technological innovation level, and the marine economy has continued to grow. The blue marine has become an important space for building a modern economic system in the new era. It is expected that the platform of the CMEE will be fully utilized and, with the joint efforts of all parties, a more intensive, comprehensive and pragmatic cooperation will be carried out to create a mutually beneficial and bright future.
After the opening ceremony, Ma Xingrui, Wang Hong and other leaders visited the exhibition area. During a cordial exchange with representatives of exhibiting companies, Ma said that at present, Guangdong is fully committed to promoting the construction of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and striving to build a modern coastal economic belt and a strong marine province. It is hoped that exhibiting enterprises will seize opportunities, deepen exchanges and cooperation, strengthen R&D and innovation, and jointly promote the development of the marine economy and the marine industry. Guangdong will create a more advantageous business environment for enterprises in Guangdong. Ma also called for further improvement of the CMEE, to be more internationalized, specialized and market-oriented and become a window to showcase the achievements of China and the world’s marine economic development, a high-end platform for economic cooperation in marine industry and a grand event for exchanges in marine science and technology innovation.
Under the theme “Leading Cooperative Sharing in Blue Marine”, the CMEE 2018 displays innovations in various industries, central to that are marine engineering equipment, marine energy and technology, port logistics, coastal tourism, biomedicine and modern marine services. According to the Preparatory Committee of the event, 2,400 companies from 72 countries participated in the exhibition, including a whole host of marine business giants, such as BASF SE, China Merchants Group, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited, China Communications Construction, State Power Investment, CNOOC, Guangzhou Shipyard International.
At the event, paths to innovative development for the marine economy are discussed, China’s marine economy development index released, and 11 marine-related forums and various relevant business activities held.
Located at the southernmost tip of Chinese mainland and surrounded by the sea on three sides, Zhanjiang is a prefecture-level city with the longest coastline in China. It has unique geographical advantages and abundant marine resources. As a model city for innovation and development of China’s marine economy, Zhanjiang has continuously renewed its development mode in recent years and achieved rapid development.
As a result, the CMEE, an annually event started in 2012, has been permanently settled in Zhanjiang since 2014. The past five editions have witnessed a total of 83 participating countries and 11,000 enterprises, with a total transaction volume exceeding 200 billion yuan (USD 28.85 billion).
SOURCE The Preparatory Committee of the China Marine Economy Expo