Plans have been issued for the construction of port economic zones in Shantou and Zhanjiang, two sub-central cities in Guangdong province, to play a role in optimizing the regional economic layout of the province.

The planned area of the Shantou port economic zone is 104.93 square kilometers, and the Zhanjiang zone covers 148.81 square kilometers, according to the plans.

"Planning and construction of the two port economic zones are of great significance for better serving the security and stability of the national industrial chain and supply chain," said Zhu Wei, deputy director of the provincial development and reform commission of Guangdong, during a news conference on Friday.

According to Zhu, the main task of the plans is to leverage the unique advantages of Guangdong's manufacturing industry and integrate the industrial and supply chains to build a world-class port industrial cluster.

By 2030, the Shantou and Zhanjiang zones aim to gather key enterprises of the industrial and supply chains to become new models for domestic and international industrial transfer and international production capacity cooperation and play a greater role in connecting domestic and international dual circulation, according to the plans.

The Shantou zone will leverage its abundant marine resources and distinctive industrial strength to focus on developing port manufacturing clusters and modern seaport service clusters, striving to create an export-oriented industrial agglomeration hub.

The Zhanjiang zone will capitalize on local resources and advantages of major projects such as Baosteel, Sinopec Refining and BASF to promote industrial collaboration with ASEAN countries, aiming to establish an export-oriented processing and service base for the ASEAN market.