Country retains spot as largest shipbuilder

China maintained its position as the world's largest shipbuilder for the 16th consecutive year in 2025 and extended its dominance across key industry metrics, which experts said highlighted resilience in the face of Washington's moves to curb Beijing's rise in the sector.

Latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed that China led the world in ship completions, new orders and order backlogs last year, underscoring the scale and resilience of an industry that has become central to global trade and supply chains.

China's ship completions reached 53.69 million deadweight tons in 2025, up 11.4 percent year-on-year, accounting for 56.1 percent of global output. By the end of December, order backlogs climbed 31.5 percent from a year earlier to 274.42 million deadweight tons, a record high and equal to 66.8 percent of global outstanding orders.

New orders hit 107.82 million deadweight tons last year, representing 69 percent of the global market. Although China's share of global new orders slipped from 74.1 percent in 2024, it still maintained a clear lead over other countries.

Li Yanqing, vice-chairman of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry, said: "China's shipbuilding industry delivered eye-catching results in 2025, with all three major indicators exceeding expectations. Chinese shipyards are entering 2026 with three to four years of orders in hand, keeping production lines very busy."

Li said that artificial intelligence and digital systems are increasingly being integrated into ship design, manufacturing and operations, helping to improve efficiency and push the sector toward greener and smarter production.

Yu Xinding, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said: "China continues to lead in areas such as green power and smart shipping. These structural strengths give China's shipping industry greater resilience in the face of external pressure."

In October, Washington imposed additional port fees on Chinese vessels, hoping to revive its shipbuilding industry. Beijing responded immediately with countermeasures, levying special port charges on ships from the United States.

"Efforts by any single country to reshape the global maritime industry through administrative measures or sanctions would be unlikely to alter underlying market dynamics. More economies will recognize the huge cost of disrupted trade rules in the shipbuilding and maritime sectors," Yu said.