Photo: Chen Xia/GT

About 40 diplomats from 28 countries visited the Jiangnan Shipyard Group Co, a subsidiary under China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), in Shanghai on Thursday to gain insight into the latest progress of the Chinese shipbuilding industry in a tour titled "Global Insights into Chinese Enterprises" organized by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

"Global Insights into Chinese Enterprises" is a platform that aims to facilitate interaction and communication between Chinese enterprises and diplomats based in China. It is designed to showcase China's modern achievements and vision, focus on practical cooperation areas and serve high-quality development, organizers said.

The visiting diplomats were given a tour of the Jiangnan Shipyard museum, which showcased the development of the Chinese shipbuilding industry. They expressed strong interest in strengthening collaboration with China, particular in the green shipping sector.

China and Greece have a continuously growing maritime partnership, carrying out win-win synergies, Dimitrios Foukis, head of the Public Diplomacy Office of the Consulate General of Greece in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Thursday after the tour.

As stated before in other events by the Hellenic Maritime Attache, Kakarouchas Stavros, who is also attending this event, as trends and challenges emerge, it becomes obvious that there is ample space for further cooperation between China and Greece in the construction of "green" ships, including the "green" retrofitting of existing ships, Foukis said.

"The order book in Chinese shipyards from Greek shipowners grows year by year," he added.

Photo: Chen Xia/GT

Klaus Rostell, a Maritime Counsellor from Denmark, told the Global Times on Thursday that "I think it's quite impressive to be here and take part in this event."

"China and Denmark have long cooperation in shipbuilding. I think that what we are seeing here today, is that China is advancing very much in ship building and also in green technologies. I think that there are many opportunities for us to cooperate in shipbuilding," Rostell told the Global Times.

CSSC is advancing toward high-end transformation through innovation, intelligence and green shipping, exemplifying the trend in the Chinese shipbuilding industry.

Jiangnan Shipyard Group Co specializes in the manufacturing of very large gas carriers (VLGCs), large containerships and pure car truck carriers (PCTCs).
The company has the world's largest share of the VLGC market.

Its independently developed PCTCs adopt a dual-fuel power design, with high clean emissions standards and low fuel consumption. They are flexible to operate, easy to maintain and very profitable.

On April 29, Hudong-Zhonghua, another subsidiary under CSSC, secured 18 orders for the world's largest liquefied natural gas ship with a capacity of 271,000 cubic meters. The total contract value exceeded $40 billion, setting a new record in the history of shipbuilding worldwide.

China's completed shipbuilding capacity, new orders and orders on hand all ranked No. 1 globally in the first quarter of 2024, showcasing the vitality of China's economy and its manufacturing sector, according to a report by the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry issued in May.

The diplomats also visited the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China and the Zhangjiang AI Robot Valley in Shanghai on Wednesday to learn about the progress that China has made in advanced manufacturing.

"The event aims to facilitate interaction between Chinese enterprises and international stakeholders. We had the unique chance to experience, among others, development in the area of AI of Chinese companies," Foukis said, noting that Greece is currently developing its national AI strategy.

China's manufacturing sector has remained a land of opportunity for foreign-invested companies over the years for its manufacturing prowess and the most comprehensive industrial chain in the world. In 2023, foreign investment in the sector accounted for 27.9 percent of the total, up 1.6 percentage points from the previous year, official data showed.