China accelerates rollout of marine economy application scenarios

China has been stepping up efforts to create application scenarios to provide real-world testing grounds for new technologies, products and business models in the marine or the blue economy.

"Scenarios" refer to specific situations for the testing of new technologies, products and business models. They serve as a bridge connecting technologies and industries, and linking research and development with the market.

Recently, China released its first national list of application scenarios for the blue economy, outlining 48 marine economy projects with a combined investment exceeding 10 billion yuan (about 1.41 billion U.S. dollars).

The list, designated to provide real-world testing grounds for new technologies, spans nine sectors, including deep-sea aquaculture, low-altitude economy in the blue economy, marine biomedicine, engineering, and low-carbon technologies. Of the scenarios, 13 involve deep-sea aquaculture, accounting for more than 27 percent of the total, offering testing grounds for advanced equipment and artificial intelligence applications.

Officials said this will shorten the time needed to turn research results into commercial products and lower costs for innovative firms.

"This comes from the needs of our products. Once those needs are addressed, research results can be immediately applied to industries, which greatly shortens the time required to turn scientific and technological achievements into practical use," said Hong Pengzhi, deputy director of the Zhanjiang Bay Laboratory.

"For innovative companies like ours, the barriers to using testing scenarios are very high. Testing costs are high, and the process of getting new products into use takes a long time. Giving us access to these scenarios will help us bring our new equipment and products into use much faster," said Zhou Changgen, founder of Chasing Innovation (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd.

With 32,000 kilometers of coastline and about three million square kilometers of maritime territory, China has ramped up efforts to tap its blue economy.

In November this year, the country unveiled a guideline to accelerate the development of application scenarios for new technologies and products.

The guideline called for accelerated development and opening of new scenarios in deep-sea exploration, aquaculture, marine engineering equipment, electronic information and biomedicine, aiming to build hubs of deep-sea technological innovation.

At the moment, coastal Chinese cities are rolling out tailored projects to support the marine economy.

Fuqing, a city in east China's Fujian Province, hosts an integrated offshore wind power application scenario that combines turbine research, manufacturing, installation and operations. The city has set global records for turbine capacity, exported equipment to Belt and Road countries including Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, and built China’s first national offshore wind test base.

Zhanjiang, a city in south China's Guangdong Province, has established the country's first innovation center on marine-economy scenarios: the Guangdong (Guangzhou-Zhanjiang) Marine Economy Scenario Innovation Center. The center pioneers a cross-regional collaboration model, combining Guangzhou's digital technology with the local marine industry strengths, creating "super scenarios" such as offshore ranches.

"By creating integrated super scenarios such as offshore ranches, technologies of drone, robotics and large AI model can be tested and iterated in marine scenarios," said Kong Weiqiang, director of the Greatwall Bay Area Research Institute.

The Chinese northern port city of Dalian launched a three-year action plan for high-tech shipbuilding and offshore engineering, creating opportunities in deep-sea exploration, mining and underwater robotics to drive a shift toward greener, smarter manufacturing.

"We will drive the shipbuilding industry shift toward smart construction and green manufacturing, aiming to make Dalian a hub of independent innovation and original breakthroughs," said Duan Hongtao, deputy director of the city's industry and information technology bureau.

China accelerates rollout of marine economy application scenarios

Audio evidence of Chinese navy informing Japanese side of the planned Liaoning aircraft carrier formation training in advance has been released, proving that Japan's claims related to the flight training exercise conducted by Liaoning aircraft carrier formation distorted the truth and aimed to mislead the international community.

China's Liaoning aircraft carrier formation was conducting normal flight training for carrier-based fighter jets on Saturday in the sea east of the Miyako Strait.

Yuyuantantian, a Chinese social media account, has released audio communications between a China Navy Warship and a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Warship ahead of the training.

According to the audio information, the Japanese side fully acknowledged the message on this planned training from the Chinese navy formation.

However, shortly after the training began, Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft deliberately intruded into China's exercise and training zones, conducting close-in reconnaissance and disruptions on China's normal military activities, at one point approaching less than 50 kilometers away.

Modern fighter aircraft radars can detect objects more than 50 kilometers away, meaning the Japanese aircraft entering that range would be picked up by the Chinese radar and would detect the Chinese radar signals.

According to people familiar with the matter in China, the Chinese aircraft also detected radar signals from Japanese aircraft, but remained rational and restrained, reflecting China's responsible attitude to ensure maritime and air security.

Early on Sunday, Japan's Minister of Defence Shinjiro Koizumi falsely accused China of so-called "radar illumination" during an impromptu press conference, misrepresenting facts, deflecting the blame, creating tensions and misleading the international community.

In response to Japan's claims, the PLA Navy spokesperson Wang Xuemeng said on Sunday that Japan's claims were completely inconsistent with the facts.

China sternly urges Japan to immediately stop its slanderous and defamatory acts and strictly discipline its front-line operations regarding China's Liaoning aircraft carrier formation, he said.

"Japan has recently escalated its provocations and disturbances in the military security domain -- what are its true intentions? The international community is fully aware of the answer," Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said on Sunday.

Should Japan revert to the perilous path of militarism, it will inevitably plunge into an abyss from which there is no return, Zhang said.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao on Sunday lodged stern representations and a strong protest with Japan's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Takehiro Funakoshi over the matter.

"Japan's actions are grossly irresponsible," Wu said. "China solemnly urges Japan to cease its defamation and slander, rigorously regulate its front-line operations, and prevent such incidents from recurring."

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that China strongly urge the Japanese side to immediately stop its dangerous harassment of China’s military exercise and training, and stop all irresponsible allegations and political manipulation. 

Audio evidence shows Japan intentionally harassing Liaoning aircraft carrier formation