Abstract: Due to the dual interference of global climate change and human activities, the structural integrity and functional stability of the social-ecological system in China’s coastal areas are facing challenges. It is of great scientific value to study the resilience of the system to enhance its ability to resist, recover and adapt. Considering the natural ecological and socio-economic factors, an index evaluation system based on vulnerability, resistance, resilience and adaptability dimensions is constructed. The entropy weight-TOPSIS method, center of gravity-standard deviation ellipse, grey correlation degree and grey prediction model are used to analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics, influencing factors and future evolution trend of social-ecological system resilience in coastal areas of China from 2013 to 2022. The results show that: (1) The resilience of social-ecological system shows a fluctuating upward trend and a gradient differentiation that the East is greater than the South and the South is greater than the North. After 2020, the resilience of each province tends to be stable and slightly increases, and the center of gravity of resilience moves southward and the main trend direction of spatial distribution is stable for a long time. (2) Seven provincial-level administrative regions, including Shanghai, Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Hainan, have balanced development in four dimensions. Liaoning and Tianjin have a low-recovery resilience trap, while Hebei and Guangxi have a resilience trap in four dimensions. (3) The resilience of social-ecological system is mainly affected by the ability of monitoring and early warning, the level of economic development, the intensity of scientific and technological innovation and the construction of resources and environment. The factors that reflect the long-term pressure of the environment have a weak impact on resilience. (4) In the next ten years, the overall resilience is still slowly improving, but the regional imbalance is intensifying, and the Bohai Rim and other regions are facing the risk of lagging development. Based on the research results, the resilience governance concept of adapting to local conditions and coordinated development, the resilience governance measures for classification, the resilience governance path of strengthening the core driving force and stabilizing the natural foundation, and the resilience governance plan of regional differentiation are proposed to promote the resilience improvement and sustainable development of the social-ecological system in China’s coastal areas.

Key words: resilience, social-ecological system, evolutionary regularity, influencing factors, coastal areas