It is reported that the added value of port economy in China's seaport cities reached 6.2 trillion yuan last year, accounting for 13.4% of the total economic output of these cities. Compared with 2022, the scale has increased by 192.9 billion yuan. The 2024 Report on the Economic Development of China's Port Cities, released by the Planning and Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, comprehensively evaluates the economic development level of 59 port cities in China. Port economy refers to the sum of economic activities related to various industries that rely on and utilize ports, with ports as the center and port cities as carriers. The report shows that the current port economy in China's seaport cities presents a spatial pattern of "one core, two zones, and multiple areas", forming a spatial pattern led by urban agglomerations such as Shanghai and Suzhou as the "one core", coordinated development with the Yangtze River Delta region and the Pearl River Delta region as the "two zones", and joint development with the Bohai Rim region, the southeast coastal region, and the southwest coastal region as multiple areas. It is worth noting that the economic added value of port cities in the Yangtze River Delta region accounts for 44.7% of the total value of port cities in China, making it the most developed coastal region in terms of port economy. In addition, last year, the proportion of port economy in the first, second, and third industries of port cities reached 15%, 22%, and 8%, respectively, reflecting the significant supporting role of ports in the first and second industries. Ports are an important support for economic development, showcasing the vitality and resilience of China's economy to the world. The report believes that currently, the main type of port economy in China is still based on basic traditional industries, facing low technological content, low overall development level, short industrial chain, and less cluster development. The report shows that in the future, China needs to focus on new productive forces, use ports as strategic resources, accelerate the development of new generation information technology, biotechnology, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, new energy vehicles, marine equipment and other strategic emerging industries, and plan for future industries such as brain intelligence, quantum information, deep sea and aerospace development, hydrogen energy and energy storage, using disruptive and cutting-edge technologies to give birth to new industries, models, and driving forces in the port economy. (Lai Xin She)