Advancing China's Sustainable Blue Economy 2025

81.1 Status of the ocean’s economic sectors The ocean plays an important role in the global economy. Blue foods contribute to global food security, while maritime shipping mobilizes over 80% of global trade, and ocean-based tourism continues to grow. UN Trade and Development has classified ocean-based economic activities into 14 categories1 and estimated the value of the global ocean economy in 2018 to be $2.5 trillion, 3.3% of global GDP. The global ocean economy has grown 2.5 times since 19952. Over the past decade, ocean economic sectors have undergone substantial transformations globally, particularly as “non-traditional” industries such as offshore wind energy, offshore aquaculture and marine biotechnology have rapidly expanded3. This growth represents a significant shift away from traditionally 1 UN Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) international ocean economy classification included: A. Marine fisheries; B. Aquaculture and hatcheries; C. Seafood processing; D. Sea minerals; E. Ships, port equipment and parts thereof; F. High-technology and other manufactures not elsewhere classified; G. Marine and coastal tourism; H. Trade in fisheries services; I. Maritime transport and related services; J. Port services, related infrastructure services and logistical services; K. Coastal and marine environmental services; L. Marine research and development and related services; M. Ocean energy & renewable energy. From UNCTAD, 2021, “Towards a harmonized international trade classification for the development of sustainable ocean- based economies”, https:/ /unctad.org/publication/towards-harmonized-international-tradeclassification-development-sustainable-ocean . 2 “The ocean economy is booming. But for how long?”, UNCTAD, 2025, https:/ /unctad.org/news/ocean-economy-booming-how-long . 3 “Fast-growing trillion-dollar ocean economy goes beyond fishing and shipping”, UNCTAD, 2025, https:/ /unctad.org/news/fast-growing-trillion-dollar-ocean-economy-goes-beyond- fishing-and-shipping .dominant sectors, like fisheries, shipping, tourism, oil and gas, and coastal aquaculture. Global agendas aimed at addressing climate change, economic development and food security are inadvertently driving increased utilization of ocean resources. While these initiatives often have positive intentions, they may also lead to unsustainable exploitation of marine environments. In Box 1, we list five emerging key drivers of change in the ocean economy. This is not an exhaustive list, but a summary of common patterns found in global reports. Opportunities and challenges are inherently intertwined and coexist. For example, investing in research and innovation to address these challenges can lead to the development of safer, more efficient technologies that minimize environmental impacts. 1. Context Chunyip Wong/iStock.com