"Blue competition" in China: Current situation and challenges

The current study analyzes the competitiveness of marine economies in provinces/districts along the eastern coast of China. The current work reviewed the development of marine economy in China over the past decade, and analyzed strategies of each regional economy regarding natural resource endowment and policy priorities in five major coastal provinces of China. Through comparative study of local marine policies and industrial priorities, it is found that the Chinese marine economy is largely oriented towards heavy industry. Local governments focus on land reclamation and often neglect environment protection, which resulted in similar dysfunctional structures of regional industrial policies in these provinces. Based on these findings several policy suggestions are proposed. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.