Authorities in Ningbo and Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province held a video conference to discuss how to improve the development of their marine economies on Jan 16. 

Ningbo mayor Tang Feifan said at the conference that Ningbo will strengthen coordination with Zhoushan in terms of improving port competitiveness, speeding up the upgrading and transformation of modern marine industries, pursuing innovation in marine technologies as well as deepening the opening-up of the marine economy. 

He added that Ningbo will ramp up efforts to build renowned brands in fields such as marine financial services, marine cultural exchanges and livable coastal cities, as this will play a significant role in turning China into a maritime power. 

Zhoushan mayor Xu Renbiao said at the conference that Zhoushan will strive to bolster the integrated development of the two cities, which will be key to expanding development space and creating new growth drivers.