The “Belt and Road” initiative will create unprecedented opportunities for China’s marine industries.

 

The “Belt and Road” initiative will create unprecedented opportunities for China’s marine industries, including shipbuilding, oceanic engineering, marine resources exploitation, renewable energy and tourism. The initiative will generate demand by integrating China’s coast with its hinterland and forging links to countries along the Maritime Silk Road.

Economic zones for sea areas in the north, south and east were established in the 12th Five-Year Development Plan for National Marine Economy in 2013. The “Belt and Road” initiative is expected to further develop the nation’s marine economy.

For example, the growing number of Chinese tourists who will visit Japan and South Korea under relaxed visa policies will be a boon to the cruise industry, related port facilities and the hospitality industry. In Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean, we might undertake some arduous projects, such as providing inter-island transport and other services to archipelago countries.

In the past, exports were the only international aspect of China’s marine industries, but today, the marine economy is integral to the “going out” strategy because it will drive infrastructure construction and industrialization in countries along the routes of the “Belt and Road.”

The nation’s marine economy has enormous untapped potential, which might be explored in a number of new industrial forms, such as wind power, ship repair, deep-sea fishing and mariculture. Also, there will be increased exchanges in terms of tourism, shipbuilding, ports and other industries between China and the countries along the routes.

Economic risks and political challenges need be considered in this process as well. The United States, Japan and some Southeast Asian countries that put forward claims to the South China Sea have opposed China’s normal marine activities in the past. The political and non-traditional security threats from social unrest caused by regime change, terrorism, extremism and piracy, still exist in a few countries along the Maritime Silk Road. In addition, the public services of the Chinese government cannot keep pace with the “going out” strategy. This will further increase the business risks for Chinese enterprises because the marine economy requires diplomatic and financial support from the government.

The land and marine economy will be more closely linked in the future from a long-term perspective. “Land-sea coordination” and the “going out” strategy definitely will become the trend of China’s marine economy. China’s traditional economic philosophy narrowly focused on either land or oceans, leading to decentralized resource allocation, which is bad  for the marine economy.

Therefore, whether developing the overall plan of the marine economy and putting forward concrete measures of land-sea coordination, or providing comprehensive public services for “going out” strategy, or strengthening international cooperation, the Chinese administration responsible for ocean affairs needs to improve management skills and strengthen its service under the “Belt and Road” initiative. We hope these “going out” projects not only boost the modernization of related countries but also yield stable and long-term returns for domestic industries, realizing a truly sustainable marine economy.

 

The article was translated from the People’s Daily. Yan Ran is from China Federation of Industrial Economics.