China's shipbuilding industry sees a rapid rebound in new orders

China’s shipbuilding industry has seen new orders rebound rapidly. In 2025, due to the Trump administration of the United States introducing regulatory measures targeting Chinese vessels, the industry was once struggling, but as the measure was announced to be postponed, order volumes rose again by the end of 2025. In sectors such as high-value ships including liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport vessels, China’s growing influence in shipbuilding continues to strengthen, highlighting its strong position as the world’s largest market-share holder.

In Dalian, a port city in China’s northeast, in mid-March, looking from near the production base of China Shipbuilding Group (CSSC), the world’s largest shipbuilding group, you can see multiple oil tankers under construction, with large cranes at work.

China’s shipbuilding industry has experienced ups and downs in recent years. As of 2024, demand for vessels meeting new environmental regulations continued to grow, but in 2025 the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that when ships built in China call at U.S. ports, port call fees would be charged. The measure was originally set to take effect in autumn 2025.

To continue reading, please click here to visit Nikkei Chinese

The Japan Economic News Agency and the Financial Times merged in November 2015 into the same media group. Formed between the two newspaper companies—Japan and the United Kingdom—both founded in the 19th century, the alliance is moving forward with “high-quality, the strongest economic journalism” as its banner, promoting wide-ranging collaboration such as joint special features. This time, as part of that effort, the two newspapers have enabled article exchanges between their Chinese-language websites.