China’s shipbuilding industry will retain its top spot globally this year, by capitalizing on a robust industrial chain and prioritizing progress in intelligent and green technical solutions, analysts and shipbuilders said. Despite the United States launching a Section 301 investigation into China’s shipbuilding business earlier this year, they said the growth momentum of Chinese shipyards will remain competitive and support China’s exports in the second half, because their strength stems from a combination of factors that cannot be constrained merely by tariffs or other trade remedy measures. Chinese shipyards saw new orders surge 43.9% year-on-year to 54.22 million deadweight tons (DWT) in the first half of the year, accounting for 74.7% of the global total, according the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). China's ship-building output reached 25.02 million DWT, up 18.4% on a yearly basis, or 55% of the world’s total. Among the world’s 18 major ship types, such as bulk ships and oil tankers, China ranked first globally in new orders for 14 of them during the January-June period, statistics from the Beijing-based China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) showed.
The growth highlights the resilience and adaptability of Chinese manufacturers in the face of external challenges. It also reflects insufficient global high-tech shipbuilding capacity resulting from structural changes on the demand side, said Li Yanqing, CANSI’s Secretary General. The global shipping market has witnessed a significant increase in demand for fleet renewal. The rise in shipping costs due to various economic and political factors worldwide has also led to a notable increase in new shipbuilding orders, said Peng Bo, Researcher specializing in foreign trade at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing. Han Jianfeng, President of the China unit of Wartsila Corp, a Finnish ship engine manufacturer, said current orders are mainly for large ships and liquefied natural gas carriers.
China is among the few countries globally that possess both advanced technology and large-scale shipbuilding capabilities. The country’s well-developed industrial chains provide its shipbuilding companies with a competitive edge in cost control and production efficiency. China’s ship exports amounted to USD20.67 billion between January and June, soaring 85.2% year-on-year, according to CANSI data. On a monthly basis, the average monthly export value was USD3.4 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate consistently above 30%, the China Daily reports.
