BEIJING, Oct. 31 -- China's marine economy made steady progress in the first three quarters of 2024, the Ministry of Natural Resources said on Thursday.

According to preliminary calculations, China's gross ocean product grew 5.4 percent year on year to 7.7 trillion yuan (about 1.08 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters.

The country's marine transportation industry continued to improve, with the ocean freight volume up 5.6 percent year on year and the cargo turnover increasing 8.5 percent.

The development of emerging marine industries is accelerating, according to the ministry. The marine engineering equipment manufacturing industry maintained a sound, steady performance, with the amount of newly contracted marine engineering orders up 167 percent year on year and the amount of outstanding orders increasing 17.8 percent.

Overall, the production and operations of marine-related enterprises saw positive trends. The average number of employees in nearly 80 percent of over 900 surveyed enterprises maintained stable or increased in the first three quarters compared to the same period last year, the ministry said.