State-owned capital makes its strategic layout, the leading provincial capital takes targeted measures to make up for its shortcomings in the marine economy sector.
According to Guangzhou Daily, on October 19, the unveiling ceremonies of Guangzhou Marine Equipment Group and Guangzhou Science and Technology Innovation Service Group were held on the same day. At the event, the two groups respectively held strategic cooperation signing ceremonies with relevant cooperative entities including CSSC Guangzhou Shipyard International, Huangpu Wenchong, COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers, SAIL Intelligence, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), and the National Technology Innovation Center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to deepen collaboration in fields such as marine equipment R&D and manufacturing, and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and promote the in-depth integration of industrial chain and innovation chain.
It is reported that the simultaneous unveiling of the Marine Equipment Group and the Science and Technology Innovation Service Group marks that the matrix of new state-owned enterprises under Guangzhou municipal state-owned assets has been further expanded, the system has been continuously improved, and the function of serving the urban strategy has become more prominent. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guangzhou Municipality will provide maximum support in policies, resources and assessment, promote the two enterprises to become new benchmarks and new engines for the reform and development of Guangzhou's state-owned assets and state-owned enterprises, and provide strong support for Guangzhou to build a modern city highlighting marine characteristics and a world-leading sci-tech innovation city with global influence.
Economic data for the third quarter have been released one after another, and all regions are intensively arranging economic work for the fourth quarter. Also on October 19, Guangzhou held the meeting of the Municipal Party Committee's Financial and Economic Affairs Commission and the analysis meeting of the city's economic situation in the third quarter. The meeting emphasized that the fourth quarter is the critical and pivotal period for securing a successful finish of the whole year's economic work and striving for a full-year victory. It is necessary to accelerate the building of trillion-level industrial clusters of "land, sea and air" and "chips, displays and pharmaceuticals", and foster and expand new drivers of economic growth.
Focusing on the "marine" sector, data shows that Guangzhou's gross marine product reached 523.1 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for 16.3% of the local GDP. Meanwhile, as one of the three major shipbuilding bases in China, Guangzhou is home to two leading enterprises with an output value of 20 billion yuan, namely CSSC Guangzhou Shipyard International and CSSC Huangpu Wenchong. In 2025, the total industrial output value of the ship and marine engineering industry exceeded 55 billion yuan, up 10% year on year.
However, obvious structural shortcomings still exist: the output value of supporting enterprises only accounts for 6% of the total output value of the ship and marine engineering equipment manufacturing industry. Links including power systems, high-end hydraulic components, core sensors, communication and navigation still rely on external supply. The previously released "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Marine Economy in Guangzhou" has set a separate target for this indicator: by 2030, the proportion of the output value of supporting enterprises will be increased to 12%.
In accordance with the plan, Guangzhou will build a ship and marine engineering manufacturing base in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and forge an industrial cluster for R&D and manufacturing of intelligent ships and deep-sea equipment. It will accelerate the high-end, green and intelligent transformation of ship and marine engineering manufacturing, push forward the tackling of core technologies, strengthen the development of characteristic marine engineering equipment for deep-sea and polar regions, develop the supporting equipment industries including marine power systems, high-end hydraulic components, core sensors, communication and navigation and automation equipment, and expand professional service industries such as ship inspection and certification, financial leasing and comprehensive operation.
The newly established Guangzhou Marine Equipment Group is focusing on both the manufacturing end and the service end. On the one hand, it focuses on three major sectors: marine power equipment, marine engineering equipment, and offshore new energy equipment, to fill the key supporting links in the industrial chain through resource integration. On the other hand, it lays out modern marine service formats such as green power operation and maintenance and modification, industrial park operation, financial leasing, inspection, testing and certification, builds carriers including public service platforms for marine science and technology, industrial development funds, and industrial innovation alliances, and constructs a comprehensive service system covering the whole life cycle of marine equipment.
A relevant person in charge of Guangzhou Marine Equipment Group revealed in an exclusive interview with Guangzhou Daily that according to the development plan of Guangzhou's shipbuilding industry, Guangzhou will be built into the second largest shipbuilding base in China. By 2035, the scale of the shipbuilding industry will reach 200 billion yuan — of which the output value of shipbuilding is 100 billion yuan, the output value of ship supporting is 50 billion yuan, and the output value of ship services is 50 billion yuan.
This article is from the WeChat Official Account City Evolution Theory, written by Yang Huan, and published with authorization from 36Kr.