China’s Coastal Regions Set Eyes on Marine Economy

Chinas Coastal Regions Set Eyes on Marine Economy

Newly released data from the Ministry of Natural Resources showed that Chinas marine economy saw sustained growth over the past years. The total output value increased from RMB 6.97 trillion（about US $1.1 trillion） in 2016 to RMB 8.94 trillion in 2019， accounting for 9 percent of Chinas total GDP in the year.

Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the earths surface， and China has jurisdiction over 3 million square km of marine area. The marine economy is becoming an important source of support for China to build itself into a maritime power， and also an important aspect of Chinas efforts to accelerate the replacement of old growth driving forces with new ones.

All of Chinas 11 coastal provincial-level regions have included the development of maritime economy in their local 14th five-year plans as an important strategy to strengthen local economy， noted the Decoding Report of Chinas Marine Economy 2021 released by the China Economic Information Service on the World Oceans Day.

Great progress has been made in Chinas marine innovation， port development， opening-up， and marine ecology with notable improvements in major indicators， giving China new advantages in international maritime competition and cooperation on all fronts.

China to Build Residential Circles of Convenience Nationwide

The Ministry of Commerce and 11 other departments recently jointly issued guidelines for the construction of residential circles of convenience in urban areas across the country.

The aim of the initiative is to enable residents to have access to various products and services for daily lives within a 15-minute walking radius.

In recent years， businesses targeting peoples needs and demand in their daily lives have developed rapidly in various residential areas， while problems， such as uneven distribution of commercial outlets， outdated facilities， unbalanced and inadequate development of new forms of business and new technologies， still need to be addressed.

The push for the building of such service circles across the country will be first tested in some areas and then promoted in a wider range of areas. Communities will be fully mobilized to make services for peoples daily lives more accessible， standardized， intelligent， and of higher quality. China aims to build these convenient residential spaces into an important platform to promote the formation of a strong domestic market， and create more job opportunities.

China to Guide Financial Institutions to Increase Support for Rural Vitalization

The Peoples Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission （CBIRC） jointly released measures for assessing financial institutions services for rural vitalization. The aim is to guide more financial resources to be allocated to key or weak areas in the countryside， and improve rural financial services.

The measures clearly highlight the evaluation targets， methods and procedures， and encouraged support for new agricultural business entities and small farmers.

Chinas financial regulatory authorities will take the assessment results as an important reference in implementing monetary policies， and regulating the market and the financial sector. The measures will also guide financial institutions to increase their support for rural vitalization.

In addition， the CBIRC will also continue to guide banks to improve internal mechanisms to serve rural vitalization. Banks are encouraged to give preferential financial policies to rural areas in terms of internal fund transfer pricing， budget arrangement， personnel allocation， and performance evaluation among other services.