Shandong province will continue to boost its marine economy by focusing on the development of ports, marine industries and ecology, said Li Ganjie, Governor of Shandong province.

Governor Li said that in recent years Shandong has made solid progress in building itself into a strong maritime powerhouse.

The Shandong Port Group, founded in August 2019, integrates major facilities within Shandong, including ports of Qingdao, Yantai, Rizhao and Bohai Bay.

In 2019, the group’s cargo throughput reached 1.3 billion tons, ranking first in China. In the first half of this year, its cargo throughput reached 703 million tons, an increase of 7.1 percent.

Last year, the province’s gross ocean production increased by about 9 percent, and the output value of marine equipment grew by more than 30 percent. The number of state-level marine ranching demonstration zones reached 44, accounting for 40 percent of the country’s total.

Li added that Shandong has also launched a series of measures to promote the marine environment and ecological protection. The province has established a marine environment monitoring system and demonstration zones for promoting marine ecological progress.

Shandong is planning for the further development of its ports and port-related industries as well as improving the ecology of its bay areas, Li said.