China is extending an olive branch to overseas companies as it seeks to build a more integrated global supply chain for the shipbuilding industry. Gao Dongsheng, Chief Economist at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said that China was committed to further opening up its shipbuilding sector. Chinese shipyards, which currently have a capacity to build about 65 million deadweight tons (DWT) of large vessels a year, were expected to command around 65% of the global shipbuilding market this year, according to industry officials. The MIIT would “support a globalized layout of the shipbuilding industry and a reasonable distribution of the industrial chain,” Gao told a forum at Marintec China, the world’s largest maritime conference and exhibition. “Foreign companies and research institutions are encouraged to invest and form partnerships in China.” He added that Chinese firms would seek deeper collaboration with foreign partners to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and new-energy technologies in next-generation vessels.
China’s overwhelming lead in shipbuilding has put the sector squarely on the radar of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has vowed to spend tens of billions of U.S. dollars rebuilding U.S. maritime capacity. Ma Yunxiang, Assistant President of China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) – the world’s largest shipbuilding conglomerate, with about one-third of the global market – told a media briefing that global shipping companies were increasingly willing to place orders in China as they recognized the sector’s manufacturing strength. “Chinese shipyards enjoy production and cost advantages over international rivals,” said Xiong Hao, Assistant general manager at Shanghai Jump International Shipping. “But an efficient and evenly distributed international supply chain will benefit the entire shipbuilding industry, because China still needs key components from abroad to assemble large vessels.”
China’s reliance on imported parts remains significant. In 2023, Zhou Xi, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a CSSC unit, told the South China Morning Post that only about 40% of the parts used in the Adora Magic City, China’s first domestically built cruise ship, were sourced from mainland suppliers. CSSC plans to broaden its portfolio by building more cruise liners, deep-ocean drilling vessels and nuclear-powered ships, Ma said. Adora Flora City, China’s second domestically built cruise ship, was scheduled for delivery next year and was expected to showcase further improvements in local shipbuilding capabilities, he added. CSSC also delivered the country’s first deep-ocean drilling ship, Mengxiang – meaning “Dream” in Chinese – late last year. The vessel can operate in extreme wind conditions and drill to depths of up to 11,000 meters. Shipbuilding is one of 10 core sectors identified in the “Made in China 2025” industrial strategy. Marintec China in Shanghai attracted an unprecedented 2,200 exhibitors from around the world this year, the South China Morning Post reports.
