Chinese Shipbuilding: The Dominant Force - Desteia

Chinese Shipbuilding: The Dominant Force

China is the leading player when it comes to building ships. In this essay, we quantify just how much China dominates the industry.

Overview

Chinese shipbuilding has come to dominate a crucial industry in the world: logistics. In the span of a decade, the country has become not only the world’s manufacturing hub but also the main builder of vessels carrying goods across the ocean. So much so that, in recent years, China has gone as far as producing as much as half of all vessels by tonnage.

Economic Concerns

This dominance has not come without worries. China’s recent rise in the ship manufacturing industry was recently noted by the Trump administration and deemed a source of concern given the sheer dominance the country has over vessel production. As a result, the U.S. government announced a series of fees against any Chinese-made ships docking at U.S. ports. The fees will apply to vessels starting on Oct 14th, 2025, imposing a charge of 50 USD per net ton of cargo carried for Chinese companies.

Shipbuilding Market Share

Let’s start by looking at shipbuilding today. According to data from U.N. Trade and Development, as of 2023, China was, by far, the single largest producer of commercial vessels. China controls a shocking 50.76% of the entire shipbuilding market, followed by South Korea with 28.30% and Japan with 15.4%. This means 94.46% of all vessels in the world were built in one of three countries—all located in Asia.

Share of the Shipbuilding Market (2023)

Specialization in Key Sectors

Data also shows that Chinese shipbuilders are specializing in two key sectors. As the figure below demonstrates, the bulk of Chinese shipbuilding has focused on container ships (13.5 million) and bulk carriers (12.5 million). This suggests a strategic interest in cargo transportation and a vast reach over ocean logistics.

Chinese New Build Vessel Deliveries by Type (2023)

Largest Vessel Fleet

China has the largest vessel fleet in the world, with 6,600 vessels registered under its own flags plus an additional 2,772 vessels registered under foreign flags. For context, Greece, the second largest vessel owner, has only 580 vessels under its national flag.

Ten Largest Vessel Owners in the Global Fleet (as of 1 Jan 2024)

Historical Context

Despite what the above figures might show, China hasn’t always dominated the shipbuilding industry. Over a decade ago, China was closely tied with South Korea. However, by 2023, the gap between China and other shipbuilders had grown to well over 14 million gross tons.

Vessel Building over Time (2014-2023)

Conclusion

In sum, it is true that China has come to dominate the shipbuilding industry. It has done so by focusing on container ships and bulk cargo vessels and has built 7.08% of the world’s commercial vessel fleet in just four years. One cannot deny that China now holds a disproportionate share of the shipbuilding industry.