{"id":4546,"date":"2022-04-05T14:45:25","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T14:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspira-bd.com\/?p=4546"},"modified":"2025-07-27T10:18:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T10:18:00","slug":"blue-growth-in-qingdao-can-bangladesh-replicate-chinas-blue-economy-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspira-bd.com\/zh\/blue-growth-in-qingdao-can-bangladesh-replicate-chinas-blue-economy-initiatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Growth in Qingdao: Can Bangladesh Replicate China\u2019s Blue Economy Initiatives?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u201cOcean issues affect billions of people, in ways that bring together business, politics, academia and science\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2013The Economist<\/em>\u2019s editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait.<\/p>

In line with Mr. John\u2019s apt remarks, let\u2019s recall that by the year 2025 about 75 percent of the world population would be living within 100 km. of the coast,\u00a0with the ocean providing services close to 32 trillion US Dollars in decisive areas like transportation, communication, recreation, energy production, waste disposal, and medical biotech. Though conventional wisdom has largely treated the ocean as a mere body of water isolated from the coast, with the advent of technological advancements, the hidden potential of \u201cBlue Economy\u201d (Ocean based economy) is being unfolded. This can work as the primary growth catalyst of coastline countries like Bangladesh. \u00a0Upon the establishment of absolute right over 118,813 square kilometers of water in the bay of Bengal, \u2018Blue Economy\u2019 is no more a mere buzzword but a potential springboard for the development of Bangladesh.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Blue Growth in Qingdao: Success in One Valley & Two Zones Cluster approach<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u201cBlue growth\u201d can be defined as smart, sustainable and inclusive economic & employment growth from the oceans, seas and coasts. Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province of China, has been at the forefront of global drives towards propelling \u201cblue growth\u201d. The development of Qingdao\u2019s blue economy can be traced back to 2011, when the State Council officially released plans to develop Exclusive Economic Zones on the Shandong Peninsula. Within the next 2 years Qingdao\u2019s gross ocean product (GOP) exceeded USD21.49 billion and grew at an annual rate of 18.2 percent, contributing more than 28.7 percent of the city\u2019s GDP. Moreover a huge flow of foreign investment started floating in, en-route to oceanic research centers, oil exploration, marine bio-pharmacy and marine equipment manufacturing.<\/p>

The core building block that has contributed towards Qingdao\u2019s exponential blue growth is- establishment of an innovative economy cluster named \u201cOne Valley and Two Zones<\/em>\u201d. One Valley refers to\u00a0<\/span>Blue Silicon Valley,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>being constructed (construction ends in 2020) with a focus on marine technology research and innovation. This works as an ocean research incubator, a talent aggregation center, a cultivation center for emerging marine industries and a Launchpad for coastal hi-tech towns. Two Zones refer to two\u00a0<\/span>Blue Economy Zones<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>which will utilize the inventive potential of the Blue Silicon Valley by converting the innovations into sustainable business cases. This zone includes State-level economic and technological development facility, a bonded port area and an export-processing zone. It also hosts one Ecological Park and one Industrial Demonstration Park making sure It can offer a 360 degree facility to be a global testing ground for various ocean-related economic initiatives.<\/p>

Thus Qingdao is accelerating its blue growth \u00a0in key areas like modern fishery based on aquatic seedling and standard breeding, marine manufacturing industry based on innovative ocean engineering equipment and advanced marine service industry featuring modern port logistics and coastal tourism. The question is, Can Bangladesh adopt such an approach which includes both R&D enhancement and business growth?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Replication in Bangladesh: Wishful thinking or Achievable reality?<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Bangladesh has initiated several landmark projects this year targeted towards achieving the \u2018Blue Growth\u2019 status like China, Indonesia and few other EU countries. Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been actively engaging with local and international stakeholders to boost local blue economy paradigm. Yet, being at the early stage of any new intervention has its loopholes and inconvenient truths. Let\u2019s take a quick snippet of Blue Economy status quo of Bangladesh which might make you feel \u2018blue\u2019 and gloomy:<\/p>