China׳s marine economy and regional development

This paper analyzes the evolution of Chinese marine economic development policy and the characteristics of regional differentiation in the coastal regions. The contributions of the elements of the marine economy to regional economic growth in China are deduced by using a multi-factor production function model with a constant elasticity of substitution. The results indicate that the contribution of the Chinese marine economy to the national economy increased from 6.46% to 13.83% between 2000 and 2011, and the average annual growth rate during that same period was 7.17%. This contribution mainly resulted from marine capital׳s contribution to the national economy, which amounted to roughly two-thirds of the marine economy׳s contribution to the national economy. With respect to regional differentiation, the contributions of the marine economy to the regional economies in China are ranked by region from greatest to least as follows: the Circum-Bohai Sea Region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta region. Finally, Liaoning׳s marine economy made the largest contribution to the national economy from 2000 to 2011.