How fast is the ocean economy growing?

  • According to preliminary estimates, China's gross ocean product was 5.5 trillion yuan in the first half of 2026, up 5.1% year on year. Its growth rate was 0.4 percentage points higher than GDP growth over the same period, and it accounted for 7.9% of GDP.
  • The National Development and Reform Commission expects China's gross ocean product to exceed 13 trillion yuan by 2030. This is a forecast for the full year of 2030, a different period from the first-half figure of 5.5 trillion yuan.

Which industries will policy focus on?

  • The National Development and Reform Commission proposed consolidating and upgrading industries with existing strengths, including marine equipment manufacturing, marine transportation and marine fisheries, while developing new industries and business models such as marine biomedicine, advanced marine materials and marine electronic information.
  • The Fifteenth Five-Year Plan lists the ocean economy as a separate priority for the first time, setting out plans for marine industries, marine science and technology, and bay planning.

Where do established industries with existing strengths and related companies stand?

  • Shipbuilding is an area of China's marine industry that already has a strong global share. In 2025, China's shipbuilding completions totaled 53.69 million deadweight tons, accounting for 56.1% of the world total; new orders accounted for 69.0%, and orders on hand at year-end accounted for 66.8%.
  • Among the related companies listed in the material, Asia Star Anchor Chain manufactures marine anchor chains and offshore mooring chains; Zhongke Haixun researches, develops, manufactures and sells sonar equipment, with applications including underwater acoustic detection, communications, and navigation and surveying. The two companies are involved in the mooring and underwater acoustics segments of marine equipment, respectively.