Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Bohai Bay Basin: Constraints from strike-slip activities of the Wangjiagang fault zone, NE China

•The fault zone kinematic features aid in reconstructing the tectonic evolution of the Bohai Bay Basin.•The Wangjiagang fault zone is divided into three sections: strike-slip, en echelon, and overlapping.•The fault zone experienced three strike-slip motions during the late Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene.•The extensional – dextral strike-slip faulting tectonic switch occurred at ca. 42 Ma.•The strike-slip motion of the Bohai Bay Basin was governed by plate interactions around the Pacific-Eurasian-Indian plates.