China steps up marine development

China has accelerated development of its marine territory to support the economy and improve people's livelihoods, a research report showed on Tuesday.

China's Ocean Development Index rose to 115.5 in 2013, up 5.5 points from 2012 and marking notable progress in the country's marine economy, according to the report published by the China Ocean Information Center, the Xinhua (Qingdao) International Ocean Information Center and the State Financial Information Center Index Research Institute.

The index was calculated based on six aspects of marine development, including economy, social welfare, resource exploration, environment, technological innovation and management.

Sub-indices of social welfare and resource exploration saw the largest year-on-year increase by 7.8 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Zhou Wenlong, vice president of the institute, said the rapidly growing marine economy has made great contributions to people's well-being. Jobs from marine industries amounted to 35 million in 2013, while the annual net income of fishermen stood at 14,000 yuan (2,275 U.S. dollars), nearly double the average income of rural residents in China.

China's marine economy, although slowing since 2012, has better industrial structure and an improving growth mode.