"Marine Power" for the First Time Been Made as General GoalTo build the country into a modernized marine power is the general goal for China's maritime work in the 21st century, said Wang Shuguang, director of the State Oceanography Administration on Monday.Wang made the announcement in an address at the Conference of Directors of Maritime Administrations opened on Monday. This is the first time for the Chinese government to put forward such a goal. The conference is the first one being held at the state level since China has started the institutional reforms, and it is also a maritime work conference, the biggest and the highest of its kind during the last ten years. Ocean, being one of the material-bases for the existence and development of a country, is an arena for international political struggles, a wealth of resources for human beings and an important field for high-tech development. It is the last space left for sustainable development of the countries in the world, Wang pointed out. The 21st century is a new era, in which the mankind will understand fully, and make full use of the oceans, therefore, providing an actual protection of them. We must make an earnest analysis of the current situation and try to acquire a deeper understanding of the statement "The 21st century is a century for oceans". To achieve this goal, emphasis for maritime work will be laid on the establishment of systems on the maritime planning, law making and administration. The total output value for marine industries has as reported risen from no more than 10 billion yuan in early 1980s'to 327 billion yuan in 1998, an average increase of over 20% annually. Marine economy has turned out a new boom in national economy. |
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