China's marine economy posts steady growth in H1

BEIJING - China's gross ocean product reached 5.5 trillion yuan ($810.09 billion) in the first half (H1) of 2026, up 5.1 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the Ministry of Natural Resources on Monday.

The amount accounted for 7.9 percent of the country's gross domestic product, the ministry said, noting that the marine economy is experiencing steady growth with a positive development momentum.

Meng Qinglei, an official with the ministry, said that since the beginning of this year, the supply of marine resources nationwide has remained stable, laying a solid foundation for the development of the marine economy.

Meanwhile, China's shipbuilding industry maintained strong growth during the Jan-June period. The industry saw its new shipbuilding orders, completed deliveries and order backlog increase by 105.2 percent, 34.8 percent and 37.1 percent year-on-year, respectively. The global market shares for these three indicators reached 73.9 percent, 55.4 percent and 63.3 percent, respectively, maintaining a leading position worldwide.

The sector continues to optimize product structure, achieving improvements in both quantity and quality of deliveries, the ministry said. In H1, over 40 large vessels such as container ships exceeding 10,000 TEUs, ultra-large crude oil carriers and large liquefied natural gas carriers were delivered.