Thirty-three projects with a combined investment of 22.2 billion yuan are under construction or in the pipeline in Qingdao's Blue Silicon Valley. Provided to China Daily

In line with these objectives, policymakers have envisaged that China's marine output will account for 10 percent of GDP by 2015, which, given current growth, is estimated to reach 6.5 trillion yuan ($1.04 trillion; 800 billion euros) by then.

The State Council, or China's cabinet, in October cleared zoning plans for eight major coastal regions during the 2011-20 period. Maritime zoning will provide a workable basis for the effective protection of China's ocean environment, as well as for the rational exploitation of related resources.

The gross output value of the marine economy reached more than 4.55 trillion yuan in 2011, up 10.4 percent year on year, according to the State Oceanic Administration.

The numbers indicate that the marine economy accounted for 9.7 percent of the country's total annual GDP in 2011, up from 3.8 percent in 1993, according to SOA statistics.

Though the numbers provide a sense of comfort, there are still several challenges before China can transform into a formidable maritime power, an SOA spokesperson says.

"The marine economy is mostly external in nature and as such affected by the international economic situation. China's marine economic growth has slowed due to the global economic crisis, and low domestic demand," the spokesperson says.

Slowing exports is another challenge for the industry and something that could hit marine economy growth rates this year, the spokesperson says.

"We are a big marine power, but not yet a strong one. A key reason for this is that we are still relatively weak in technological innovation. Technology contributes to about 30 percent of the whole marine economy in China, compared with 70 or 80 percent in some developed countries," the spokesperson says.

Industry experts agree that the low technology base is a major challenge for China as it strives to move up the maritime chain.

"The main reason for this is China's late entry," says Li Jingyu of the Pacific Society of China, a think tank on marine development.

Li says China still relies mainly on the big three traditional marine industries including transportation, fishing and salt for long-term growth. "It's not sustainable," he says.

China has a coastline of more than 18,000 km and 5,000 islands/islets in territorial waters with an area of more than 14,000 sq km.

In 1998, the country published its first white paper on marine economy, titled Development of China's Program. It notes that China's marine economy involves more than 20 sectors including the big three.

The sea has played an important role in China's efforts to develop an export-oriented economy over the past three decades. More than 90 percent of China's exports are transported using the sea.

According to the white paper, in the 1980s, the marine economy had annual growth rates of about 17 percent, and this subsequently rose to 20 percent during the 1990s.

However, the growth rate of traditional marine industries has been significantly slower in recent years amid global economic turmoil.

Shipping companies listed on China's A-share market, for instance, reported total losses of 7.38 billion yuan in the first nine months of last year, according to Wind Information, a leading integrated service provider of financial data in Shanghai.

China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd, the Shanghai-listed unit of the country's largest shipping group China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co, suffered the largest loss among the more than 2,000 listed companies. It posted losses of 6.4 billion yuan for the nine months to September, according to a quarterly filing.

Marine transportation grew 7.1 percent in 2011, according to the SOA, while the fishing and salt industries grew just 3.7 and 0.8 percent year on year. All three sectors grew more slowly than in the previous years.