The province's marine economy ranked first in the country for the 31st straight year, a significant driver of regional and national growth
Guangdong leads China with a 2-trillion-yuan ocean economy in 2025
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Guangdong’s marine economy topped China for the 31st consecutive year in 2025, reaching about 2.04 trillion yuan (around US$300 billion) — up 4.4 percent year-on-year in real terms.
According to a 2025 Guangdong marine economic development report shared at a government-hosted event on 8 June, Guangdong’s gross ocean product (GOP) accounted for 18.6 percent of China’s total marine output. The marine economy contributed 14.3 percent of the province’s nominal economic growth, lifting it by 0.4 of a percentage point.
The province’s 15 key marine industries generated 830.38 billion yuan (US$122.4 billion) in added value, with nine ranking among the top three nationally. Three – seawater desalination and comprehensive utilisation, marine transport and marine tourism – ranked first in the country.
Similarly, the authorities reported that Guangdong had formed five industrial clusters centred around offshore oil and gas engineering, marine fisheries, offshore wind power, marine engineering equipment and marine tourism, which have a value of a trillion yuan and 100 billion yuan.
[See more: Guangdong launches 100 billion yuan fund to develop emerging industries]
The event, marking World Oceans Day, also unveiled the Guangdong Marine Economy Development Index 2026, which grew at an average of 1.4 percent a year between 2016 and 2025. Marine emerging industries stood out, generating 78.1 billion yuan (US$11.51 billion) in added value in 2025 – double their 2015 level.
The marine manufacturing industry hit an added value of 584 billion yuan (US$86.08 billion) last year, accounting for 28.6 percent of Guangdong’s GOP, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from 2020.
Shipbuilding was another sector that the province excelled in, with the ship and wind turbine exports totalling 35.96 billion yuan (US$5.3 billion) last year, up 18.5 percent year-on-year.
Marine-product trade with Belt and Road countries reached 100.64 billion yuan, up 6.9 percent on 2024 and 48.4 percent of the province’s marine trade.
