Not long ago, with the maiden voyage of China's first domestically produced large cruise ship, the Aida Modu, China gathered three "jewels" of the world's shipbuilding industry: aircraft carriers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport ships, and large cruise ships, attracting attention from foreign media. Recently, there have been frequent good news in China's shipbuilding industry: it has won the world's largest single order, the three major indicators maintained synchronous growth in the first quarter, and the three indicators have ranked first in the world for 14 consecutive years... According to the latest report from the Korea Industry Research Institute, China has surpassed South Korea in the comprehensive competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry's value chain, ranking first. "The world's largest shipbuilding country" and "China's comprehensive competitiveness in the shipbuilding industry surpasses South Korea and ranks first in the world." The Korean National Daily recently cited the latest report released by the Korean Industrial Research Institute as the title, stating that in 2023, China surpassed South Korea in the comprehensive competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry's value chain, "ranking first.". According to the report, the value chain competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry is evaluated through five areas: research and development and design, procurement, production, maintenance and service, and demand, and a comprehensive score is calculated for ranking. South Korea's overall score last year was 88.9, second only to China's 90.6, ranking second. Japan ranks third with 83.1 points, and the European Union ranks fourth with 71.4 points. According to the report, the Korea Industry Research Institute has been evaluating the comprehensive competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry's value chain since 2020, and has previously ranked first in South Korea. According to reports, from various fields, South Korea only has a competitive advantage in research and development, design, and procurement, while China has strong competitiveness in production, maintenance, service, and demand. Furthermore, in terms of ship types, South Korea is ahead of China in natural gas transport ships and container ships, while in the oil tanker sector, China's competitiveness has surpassed South Korea since 2022. Recently, there has been continuous good news about China's shipbuilding industry. On April 29th, China Shipbuilding Group announced that the company and Qatar Energy held a signing ceremony for 18 of the world's largest 271000 cubic meters ultra large liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport ships in Beijing that day. This marks the breakthrough of China's LNG ship research and development, design, and construction from large-scale to ultra large fields, and the advancement of high-end ship research and design capabilities to world leading goals. The 271000 cubic meter LNG transport ship in this signed project will be independently designed and built by Shanghai East China, a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Corporation. It has a total length of 344 meters, a width of 53.6 meters, a depth of 27.2 meters, and a designed draft of 12 meters, making it the world's largest LNG transport ship. According to the Al Jazeera newspaper in Qatar, the total value of the project is nearly 6 billion US dollars. Eight out of 18 LNG transport ships will be delivered in 2028 and 2029, while the remaining ten will be delivered in 2030 and 2031. Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of Qatar Energy, Saad Sheridah Al Kabi, stated that this contract sets a record for the highest amount of a single new ship order and is a historic breakthrough. "This new milestone further highlights the evolving cooperation between China and Qatar, especially in the energy sector," said Al Jazeera. On May 20th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China released the latest shipbuilding data for the first quarter of 2024, with the three major shipbuilding indicators maintaining synchronous growth and a stable international market share. From January to March, China accounted for 53.8%, 69.6%, and 56.7% of the global total shipbuilding completion, new orders, and handheld orders in deadweight tons, respectively. The Financial Times reported, citing data from Radar Consulting, that China is currently the world's largest shipbuilding country. As of 2023, based on the total book value of orders for container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers, liquefied petroleum gas ships, and liquefied natural gas ships, China accounts for 46% of the global market share; South Korea ranks second with a market share of 41%. Behind the good news that quantity advantage will eventually lead to quality advantage is the overall rapid development of China's shipbuilding industry. The Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun recently published a report stating that data from the US Navy Intelligence Agency shows that China's shipbuilding capacity is 232 times that of the United States. It is not difficult to imagine that quantity advantage will eventually lead to quality advantage. As of 2023, the three major indicators of China's shipbuilding industry have ranked first in the world for 14 consecutive years. Foreign media analysis generally points out that China's shipbuilding industry has a very stable leading position globally, which is due to national policy support and the formation of cluster effects in the domestic shipbuilding industry. The related industrial chain is developed, and technology is constantly innovating and upgrading. According to a report by Japan's Sankei Shimbun, the development of China's shipbuilding industry is closely related to the Chinese government's "maritime power" strategy. According to a report on the US Strategy Page website, with the help and encouragement of the Chinese government, the production capacity and competitiveness of Chinese shipbuilding enterprises continue to improve. 2019 was an important milestone, during which China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSIC) and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), two major shipbuilding companies in China, restructured to create the world's largest shipbuilding group. The report also stated that China continues to lead the global shipbuilding industry in new orders, mainly due to the price economy and gradually improving quality of Chinese shipbuilding. The website of The Wall Street Journal in the United States reported that the rapid development of China's shipbuilding industry "benefits from large-scale commercial shipbuilding.". The report points out that with sufficient orders in the coming years, China's shipyards have expanded their scale, trained a large number of workers, and established a huge supply chain. Foreign media such as Bloomberg in the United States and Reuters in the United Kingdom have noticed that in 2023, China released the Action Plan for Green Development of Shipbuilding Industry (2024-2030), which proposes that by 2025, the international market share of green powered ships such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and methanol will exceed 50%. The background for the rapid development of China's shipbuilding industry is that the global shipbuilding industry is ushering in a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, known as the "super cycle". With the elimination and updating of old ships and the implementation of new environmental regulations, there is a strong demand for new ships in the international market. According to data from Clarkson, a UK shipbuilding and maritime dynamic analysis agency, in the first quarter of 2024, a total of 353 new ship orders/27.39 million deadweight tons were sold globally, with a year-on-year increase of 10.9% in new ship transactions. Rob Wilmington, editor of the well-known shipping magazine Lloyd's List, pointed out that the global demand for new ships is growing, and with the increasing demand for decarbonization, the demand for green ships will continue to grow. According to a report by Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Resources recently cited data from Clarkson's research, stating that the total number of orders taken by South Korean shipping companies in the first quarter of this year increased by 41.4% year-on-year, to $13.6 billion, which has reached 45.5% of the total number of orders taken for the entire year last year, ranking first in the world. During the same period, the total amount of orders in China was 12.6 billion US dollars, an increase of 8.6% year-on-year. A South Korean shipbuilding executive said that the demand for liquefied natural gas transport ships is so strong that the South Korean shipbuilding industry cannot digest all orders because the production capacity and manpower of South Korean shipyards are limited. Riding the wind and waves, steadily moving forward, the entire shipbuilding industry is currently in a high level of prosperity. According to the latest estimate from the China Shipbuilding Industry Association, the completion of shipbuilding in China will be around 45 million deadweight tons in 2024, and the number of new orders will be around 55 million deadweight tons. Clarkson predicts that the trend of contract signing in the new shipbuilding market will continue this year. For the shipbuilding industry, this year is still a good year. The latest report from Clarkson points out that in 2023, the completion volume of China's shipbuilding industry exceeded the total of Japan and South Korea, ranking first in the world: China's completion volume increased by 16% year-on-year, accounting for the first time reaching 50%. From January to March this year, China's new order volume accounted for nearly 70% of the global total, reaching 69.6%. Bloomberg mentioned that currently, the shipbuilding industry is facing a large-scale transformation, and shipping companies are starting to replace fossil fuel ships with green powered ships. In 2023, the International Maritime Organization proposed in its latest emission reduction strategy to peak greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping as soon as possible, and to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions before or around 2050, taking into account different national conditions. The relevant departments in China have issued the Action Plan for Green Development of Shipbuilding Industry (2024-2030), proposing the preliminary construction of a green development system for the shipbuilding industry by 2025. By 2030, the green development system for the shipbuilding industry will be basically established. According to research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the proportion of global orders for ships powered by liquefied natural gas has jumped from approximately 15% in 2019 to nearly 40% in 2022. The report released by the institution in August 2023 pointed out that the orders for methanol powered ships have more than doubled in 2023. According to data from the China Shipbuilding Industry Association, in 2023, the proportion of new green power ship orders in China's international market share exceeded half for the first time, reaching 57%, and achieving full coverage of mainstream ship types. Green ships such as the world's largest 5400 horsepower pure electric tugboat independently developed by China and the first 500 kW hydrogen fuel cell powered ship in China have also been put into use. At the same time, a batch of new energy marine equipment has also made new breakthroughs. Bloomberg also noted that in addition to plans to build more ships powered by clean energy sources such as liquefied natural gas and methanol, China also plans to accelerate the development of new transport ships such as liquid ammonia, liquid hydrogen, and liquid carbon dioxide. "China is becoming the world's' shipyard '." According to a report on the website of The Wall Street Journal, "China has become the world's leading shipbuilding country by a long margin." (Xinhua)