Editor's note: Feng Xuehao is a professor at the Ocean College, Zhejiang University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

China has a long history of marine exploration. In the new development stage?, technology and innovation are playing a greater role in the development of sustainable marine economy. As data shows, China's Gross Ocean Product in the first quarter of 2025 has reached 2.5 trillion yuan ($348.73 billion) with a year-on-year growth of 5.7 percent. In contrast to the traditional mode that focused on industrial scale, many coastal provinces of China have adopted different approaches of applying technology and innovation to develop a sustainable marine economy based on their own conditions. The blue engine is now promoting new quality productive forces towards the ocean.

The first example is the new technology of unmanned marine facilities and equipment. Guangdong Province and Zhejiang Province are developing a new industry of ocean robotics that combines AI technology, robot engineering, and deep-sea science. Ocean robots can significantly improve economic efficiency, such as in underwater pipeline inspection and sample collection. AI-driven unmanned equipment can help to explore parts of the ocean that was once difficult to reach by human beings. We may obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the ocean from aspects of science, economy, and nature. The new high-quality marine industries can then be realized in the near future.

Clean energy and the new mode of mariculture are new streams of the sustainable marine economy. Several coastal provinces in China, such as Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang have developed wide offshore wind farms which produce a great amount of clean energy to the grid. These wind farms benefit from new technology of offshore wind power equipment. Moreover, marine ranching in China also provides new modes of utilizing AI and information technologies to improve the ecological efficiency of fishery. When the above economic activities are integrated in the same sea area, the positive spillovers of the technologies could be more remarkable.

Because the maritime logistics network addresses more than 90 percent of cargo transportation in global trade, great efforts have been made on cost reduction and efficiency improvement. For instance, Ningbo Zhoushan port developed several smart container and bulk cargo terminals to improve operational efficiency by using AI and unmanned trucks. The deployment of hydrogen energy and electric trucks further reduces pollutant emissions along the coastline. Several new attempts have been made to coordinate the multimodal transport network by using digitalization technology and the containerization mode. More barges, which cost more but have higher ecological efficiency, are employed in the network. The digital logistics network also reduces the vehicles and ships' waiting time at ports, which could contribute to both cost and emission reduction. Unmanned ships could be another fruitful direction to promote the efficiency and safety of maritime transportation.

In addition to progress made in manufacturing and materials, one may notice that new technologies and concepts are upgrading the marine tourism, culture, and sport industries, which were quite isolated from the daily life of the Chinese people earlier. Thanks to the internet economy and information network, customers can find novel marine tourism products easily in the market. In recent years, young people are more and more interested in marine sports and sea resources are deeply involved in the health industry. Paddleboarding, surfing, kayaking, and sailing are attracting many new players. New businesses are arising and supply chains have been developed. Attention has not only been paid to sports equipment manufacturing, but also to new equipment (material) development and player training.

Without a doubt, our knowledge about the sea is still quite limited, and more efforts should be made in the future for a sustainable marine economy. First, the marine industries could be further aligned with other high-tech industries, such as AI, information, robotics, and new energy. Original innovations in those areas might be successfully implemented in the marine economy to address key challenges in sustainability. Second, international cooperation may also help multiple countries achieve an all-win harmony. Technology and knowledge sharing among different countries can significantly promote the practical efficiency of new technologies and incentivize more original blue innovations. Third, talent cultivation would be the foundation of long-term sustainable development of the marine economy. Universities may find it helpful or even essential to develop marine-related interdisciplinary programs to train graduate students who have a broad spectrum of knowledge and ability in marine economics.