President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for speeding up innovation in marine technologies, improving marine development capacity and fostering emerging marine industries of strategic importance.

He called for efforts to promote marine connectivity and pragmatic cooperation and actively develop "blue partnerships" among all countries.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a congratulatory message to the 2019 China Marine Economy Expo, which opened in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Tuesday. The expo runs through Thursday.

Xi stressed the need to strengthen pollution prevention and treatment in the oceans, protect marine biodiversity and develop marine resources in an orderly manner so that future generations will enjoy a well-preserved marine environment.

The expo is meant to be a platform for open and win-win cooperation for countries along the seas, Xi said. He said he hopes the expo's participants will deepen exchanges and cooperation based on the principles of mutual trust, mutual help and mutual benefit, and help people around the world share in development of the marine economy.

The expo, with the theme "Sharing Blue Economy Opportunities, Building a Shared Future", has attracted more than 450 organizations from China and abroad.

It includes forums covering sectors such as offshore equipment, renewable marine energy, oil drilling, biomedicine and shipbuilding, as well as events held by companies and other institutions to promote their services and invite investment. The expo, launched in Guangdong in 2012, is being held in the province for the seventh time.

China's gross oceanic product in 2018 exceeded 8.3 trillion yuan ($1.17 trillion), up 6.7 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

About 36.8 million people worked in marine-related sectors in 2018, the ministry said.