The Institute adheres to the principles of complementary advantages and collaborative innovation, and has established close cooperative relationships with domestic universities in marine-related and economic management fields and local government functional departments, jointly serving the national strategy of building China into a maritime power and the needs of local marine economic development. It has hosted more than 20 academic conferences and forums on the development of the marine economics discipline.

Collaborating with top universities, the Institute has carried out in-depth cooperation with Peking University, the National University of Defense Technology, Fudan University, Sun Yat-sen University, Xiamen University, Zhengzhou University, and others. Leveraging strengths such as New Structural Economics at Peking University, Ecological and Environmental Systems Engineering at Fudan University, comprehensive marine research at Sun Yat-sen University and Xiamen University, and energy and environmental systems analysis at Zhengzhou University, it conducts joint research on theoretical innovation in marine economics, marine policy simulation, and regional marine development planning, and jointly undertakes national-level frontier and major research projects.

Using the Blue Book of Marine Economy as a link, the Institute has continuously deepened cooperation and exchanges with Ocean University of China, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhejiang Ocean University, Beijing University of Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Liaoning Normal University, and Shandong Normal University. It has effectively integrated the advantageous resources of all parties and initially formed a full-chain research force covering marine economic theory, application, technology, and policy.

Guided by serving national strategies and regional economic development, the Institute has established multi-level and regular cooperation mechanisms with marine-related functional departments at the ministerial, provincial, and municipal levels. Through in-depth collaboration with entities such as the North China Sea Bureau, South China Sea Bureau, and East China Sea Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources; the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service; the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Shandong Province; the Shandong Provincial Oceanic Administration; the Marine Affairs Division of the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission; the Marine Economy Development Division of the Ningbo Municipal Development and Reform Commission; and the Weifang Municipal Bureau of Marine Development and Fisheries, it provides targeted services for the high-quality development of the marine economy, integrated marine management, and marine ecological protection.