A ship is being built at the Yichang Shipbuilding Industrial Park in Zhijiang, Central China's Hubei Province, on May 24, 2024. Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

China's shipbuilding industry made significant gains in the first half of 2024, with revenue and profits rising as the country secured almost 75 percent of new global orders, demonstrating the growing momentum of Chinese manufacturing.

Rising global demand played a part, experts said, but China's technological advancements are the cornerstone of its rapid development. These achievements show the country's efforts to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and develop new quality productive forces.

Experts said that there is a potential for even further growth and increasing profitability. For this purpose, advancements in technology and achieving self-reliance in producing core components of high-value ships are essential.

Ship completions rose 18.4 percent year-on-year to 25.02 million deadweight tons (dwt), making up 55 percent of the global total in the first half, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

The industry also saw an increase in order backlogs, which rose 38.6 percent to 171.55 million dwt.

China takes the lead globally in 14 out of 18 major ship types in terms of new orders, an indicator of its dominant position in the market.

The rapid progress in Chinese shipbuilding stems from multiple factors, including advances in shipbuilding technology, increased demand from the global shipping market, and the high quality and efficiency of Chinese-made vessels, Zheng Ping, chief analyst at industry news portal chineseport.cn, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China has made significant technological breakthroughs in various shipbuilding sectors, from liquefied natural gas carriers to cruise liners. Better shipbuilding technologies and experiences in construction, coupled with process optimization and digital tools, have shortened construction cycles and improved quality, boosting competitiveness and profits, Zheng noted.

Profit growth in China's shipbuilding industry has been robust, with total profits for the first five months of the year reaching 16 billion yuan ($2.2 billion), up 187.5 percent year-on-year, the MIIT said.

The expansion of the global shipping market has also resulted in a surge of orders for China, reflecting the industry's growing potential, Li Yanqing, secretary-general of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry, told China Central Television.

The thriving shipbuilding sector mirrors the rapid progress in China's manufacturing sector, particularly high-tech manufacturing. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the added value of China's high-tech manufacturing rose 8.7 percent in the first half of the year, compared with overall manufacturing sector growth of 6.5 percent. 

Besides, China's high-tech manufacturing sector has made a significant progress in the first half of 2024, providing vital impetus for industrial growth, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China's innovation-driven development strategy, focusing on the research and development investment and advanced technologies, has continuously enhanced its independent innovation capabilities, driving product upgrades and technological progress, Wang said.

Among China's shipbuilding orders, high-tech and high-value vessels are on the rise. The country's shipyards have delivered new models of ships, including the world's largest 93,000 cubic meter ultra-large LNG carrier and a 99,000 cubic meter ultra-large ethane carrier.