QINGDAO - Chinese enterprises have great opportunities in international marine engineering, a US oceanic engineer said on Thursday.

China should invest in developing new drilling machinery, said William Webster, member of the US National Academy of Engineering, at the 2017 East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform Huangdao Forum held in Qingdao, in Shandong province.

"Companies in China are building the drilling structure. But currently owners of these drilling platforms order a whole range of machinery that is needed to actually do the drilling from American and European manufacturers, not from Chinese manufacturers," he said.

China could "enter this market while the other manufacturers aren't doing anything," he said.

To break into the market, Webster suggested that Chinese enterprises pay more attention to the reliability of their drilling equipment.

"Equipment that is used today has been developed for only about a hundred years," he said. "There is a very difficult hill to climb to prove that your equipment is more reliable than others. Failure can cause a large loss in production."

Besides, opportunities require innovation, he said.

"China has good engineers, and wonderful institutions that teach engineering. I think you are up to the challenge," he said.