Zhanjiang to develop modern coastal economic belt

Zhanjiang in Guangdong province is accelerating the construction of a modern coastal economic belt and a provincial subcenter city with high standards.

Yu Gang, Party secretary of Zhanjiang, said the city would also advance cooperation with Hainan island, the country's biggest free trade zone, to develop its low-altitude economy in the coming months.

Yu made the remarks on Wednesday, the opening day of the Zhanjiang delegation, at the ongoing annual session of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong.

To accomplish its goals, Zhanjiang will speed up the construction of Leizhou and Xuwen general airports and promote the regular operation of autonomous aerial vehicle routes in the Qiongzhou Strait to help build and create a "half-hour transportation circle".

The country's first inter-province cross-sea helicopter route, Sanya-Zhanjiang, recently completed its maiden flight, and the Haikou-Zhanjiang intercity express delivery route also began operation, expanding economic ties between the two regions.

Meanwhile, Zhanjiang intends to spare no effort to construct a world-class coastal tourism destination.

Located in the Leizhou Peninsula, Zhanjiang borders the South China Sea on three sides. It has the longest coastline in Guangdong, offering great potential for developing seaside tourism.

Yu said his city will also develop its marine aquaculture industry to build marine granaries, while making efforts to develop new emerging industries, including energy storage and artificial intelligence.

According to official statistics, as of the end of last year, Zhanjiang had established four national-level marine ranches, accounting for one-fourth of the province's total.

The city sold more than 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) worth of aquatic products abroad in 2024.

Zhanjiang is also a major production base in Guangdong province. It is home to the gigantic BASF Zhanjiang Verbund, Baosteel and Zhongke (Guangdong) Refinery and Petrochemical projects, as well as the Lianjiang nuclear power project.

Zhanjiang is now promoting the construction of industrial clusters of green steel, green petrochemicals and green energy, each of which will reach an industrial production of more than 100 billion yuan, said Yu.