No chance Trump can catch China’s shipbuilding juggernaut

Leveraging foreign contracts, dual-use infrastructure and industrial policy, China’s state-backed shipbuilding juggernaut is fast outpacing the US Navy as it struggles with declining shipyards and strategic uncertainty.

This month, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report detailing how China has become the world’s leader in shipbuilding, threatening US naval superiority in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

According to the report, China has leveraged industrial policy and military-civil fusion (MCF) to integrate commercial and naval production. CSIS says the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), the world’s largest shipbuilder, has blurred the lines between civilian and military sectors, fueling the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) expansion while benefiting from foreign contracts and capital.

The report states China’s shipbuilding network operates under a tiered structure, with high-risk CSSC-owned yards producing commercial vessels and warships often funded by international clients.

It points out that over 75% of ships from these yards are sold to foreign buyers, indirectly subsidizing China’s naval build-up. It says that European and Asian firms, including Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, have de facto funneled billions into CSSC’s dual-use infrastructure.

The CSIS report mentions foreign entanglements extend beyond ship orders. It points out that Western firms have supplied critical technologies, such as marine engines, gas turbines and liquid natural gas (LNG) carrier designs, enabling China to overcome key military-industrial hurdles. It also says Chinese shipbuilders still access global financial markets, securing foreign capital despite US sanctions.

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