Marine-based economy on wave of growth

China's marine-based economy exceeded 5 trillion yuan ($820 billion) last year, accounting for 9.6 percent of the national economy, according to the China's Ocean Development Report.

The report, released by the China Institute for Marine Development Strategy of the State Oceanic Administration on Monday, looks at the input of coastal tourism, ship building and activities generally related to the sea.

Coastal tourism saw the fastest year-on-year growth of 28.3 percent to reach 697.2 billion yuan. The second most rapidly growing sector was the ship industry, which was up 27.49 percent last year to reach 133.1 billion yuan.

The report predicted that the average growth of China's ocean economy will remain at around 8 percent annually. The marine economy's contribution to the country's GDP will amount to 12 percent up to 2020 and over 15 percent in 2030.

"This is the golden age for the marine economy,'' said Gao Zhiguo, director of the China Institute for Marine Development Strategy.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the average annual growth rate of the ocean economy used to be as high as 16.7 percent, higher than GPD growth.