In an exclusive interview with China.org.cn on Nov. 12, Luo Baoming, Secretary of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and delegate to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), spoke on how the province will develop its marine economy in the next five years.

In an exclusive interview with China.org.cn on Nov. 12, Luo Baoming, Secretary of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and delegate to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), spoke on how the province will develop its marine economy in the next five years.

Luo said that President Hu Jintao's report to the Congress highlights the development of marine economy and the protection of marine resources. "President Hu's report puts forward the theory of building the country into a marine strong power for the first time. That's no doubt significant and good news for Hainan, which enjoys special favors of nature. The province has a bounden duty to do the job well," Luo said.

The maritime industry is traditionally an important part of Hainan's economy. Currently, the province has been divided into 17 marine conservation areas and 21 reservation areas.

"The functional administrative division, which recently approved by the State Council, pointed out the way forward for Hainan and clarified our tasks," Luo said. "The provincial government will give further evaluation of the goals and make specific plans to carry out."

To attain these goals, the province will start by elevating its infrastructure construction, fishing capacity, and tourism development in the South China Sea, Luo said.

Luo talked about deep-sea fishing and farming capacities of the province. "Our current fishing industry is very traditional and lacking in comprehensive supplying and processing capabilities. Given financial aid by the state, we must lay particular emphasis on building a modernized deep-sea fishing industry."

Speaking of packet ship tourism in the South China Sea, Luo stressed the importance of proper law enforcement in the area. "Only a highly coordinated and comprehensive enforcement can reflect we have jurisdiction and the exercise of sovereignty over South China Sea."

Luo also said Hainan enjoys a series of advantages conducive to green development. "The core of the concept is green industries involving low carbon, low energy consumption, high added value, and high technology."

Rubber production is among the low-carbon and high value-added industries in Hainan, Luo said. "The Sinochem Group, one of the country's largest trading firms, has allocated 14.9 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) of rubber assets to Hainan's land reclamation enterprises. That helps the province reorganize its assets and industries to form a complete rubber production chain."

"We used to sell quartz sand out of the island," Luo said, illustrating another example. "But now, cooperating with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Group and making use of indigenous materials, Hainan has become the country's largest special type of glass production base for the aerospace industry and mobile phone screens."

Luo said the province has also become the country's main cartoon software production base, with an annual sales volume exceeding 5 billion yuan. Meanwhile, the province has witnessed a rapid development in its financial market, with annual business profits rising from 800 million yuan in 2007 to 7 billion yuan in 2011. "This figure is still rising at a speed of 40 percent this year," Luo said.