China Marine Economy Expo Returns to Shenzhen in October with Expanded Global Focus
The 2026 China Marine Economy Expo will take place October 22-24 at Shenzhen's World Exhibition & Convention Center, featuring 50,000 square meters of exhibition space and concurrent Global Marine Cities Forum ahead of November's APEC meetings.
China Marine Economy Expo Returns to Shenzhen in October with Expanded Global Focus
The China Marine Economy Expo will convene in Shenzhen from October 22 to 24, 2026, positioning itself as a pivotal international marine industry gathering ahead of the city's hosting of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled for November 18-19. This marks China's third time hosting the APEC summit, following previous meetings in 2001 and 2014, with approximately 300 events planned across multiple Chinese cities during the 2026 APEC year.
The national-level exhibition will occupy 50,000 square meters at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in Bao'an, a venue that opened in November 2019 and ranks as the world's second-largest exhibition facility by net exhibition area, with 400,000 square meters of indoor exhibition space across its 1.6 million square meter Phase I development. This represents substantial growth from the expo's 2019 inaugural Shenzhen edition, which spanned 37,500 square meters.
Organizers expect more than 350 exhibitors to participate, with professional visitors from engineering contractors, service operators, and system integrators projected to comprise over 40 percent of total attendance. Since establishing its permanent home in Shenzhen in 2019, the expo has facilitated the release of over 1,000 new technologies and products while attracting approximately 1,500 global exhibitors and 750 distinguished guests from more than 20 countries and regions.
Strategic Location in Economic Powerhouse
The expo's Shenzhen location places it at the center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an economic region encompassing nearly 87 million people with a GDP exceeding 14 trillion yuan (approximately 1.95 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2024. Guangdong Province recorded a gross ocean product of 2.04 trillion yuan in 2025, representing 18.6 percent of China's national marine economy total and maintaining the province's number one national ranking for 31 consecutive years.
China's broader marine economy demonstrated robust performance in the first half of 2026, growing 5.1 percent to reach 5.5 trillion yuan and outpacing the country's overall GDP growth rate of 4.7 percent for the same period. The national gross ocean product reached 11 trillion yuan (about 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up 5.5 percent year-on-year and accounting for 7.9 percent of China's GDP.
Industry Leadership and Innovation Focus
The exhibition adopts a panoramic layout structured around core scenario solutions, featuring eight specialized thematic zones. These encompass deep and far marine integrated energy development, green shipping and low-carbon logistics, marine electronics and information technology, marine ecology and sustainable development, low-altitude economy maritime applications, full-space ocean monitoring and disaster early warning, marine biomedicine, and modern marine services with coastal cultural tourism.
China's shipbuilding sector captured 73.9 percent of global market share for new orders in the first half of 2026, while new offshore engineering equipment orders represented over 80 percent of the worldwide market. These achievements underscore the country's dominant position in key marine industries featured at the expo.
High-Level International Dialogue
The concurrent Global Marine Cities Forum serves as a principal international dialogue platform within the expo framework, drawing heads of prominent marine organizations, ambassadors and diplomats from maritime nations, Fortune Global 500 executives, and senior representatives from financial and investment institutions. Discussion topics include global ocean governance, blue economy development, marine technology innovation, and related strategic issues.
The event offers exhibitors and buyers dedicated business-to-business matching services and investment-financing networking opportunities covering the full chain from technology showcase to commercial implementation. International professional buyers receive complimentary catering and accommodation arrangements.
Additional information is available through the official CMEE website at www.cmee.com.cn/en.