"As a coastal city with a competitive marine industry, Weihai should work to make greater contributions to the development of Shandong and China's marine economy," said Zhang Haibo, deputy to the 13th National People's Congress and Party secretary of Weihai.

Weihai has made significant headway in the development of its marine economy over the past few years, according to Zhang. In 2019, the city's gross marine product reached 97.95 billion yuan ($13.72 billion), an increase of 9.1 percent year on year and accounting for 33 percent of the city's total GDP.

Weihai, Shandong province [Photo/WeChat account: weihaifabu]

The city is home to a national modern fishery demonstration zone, an aquatic product processing and cold chain logistics center, and a national marine high-tech industrial center. It has been selected as the national demonstration city for the development of the marine economy.

Zhang said that the city is working to build itself into an international ocean science and technology city, It is home to a national shallow sea comprehensive testing site, and a remote shallow sea science and technology bay is being built in the north of the city. There is also a strong marine biological industry in the eastern part of the city, and a new marine economic model is being developed in the south.

Zhang is also calling for more support from the government in laboratory construction, fund allocation, and the introduction of construction projects in order to facilitate the development of a national marine comprehensive test site.

Weihai is rich in marine resources. [Photo/WeChat account: weihaifabu]