On July 23, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released China's shipbuilding industry statistics for the first half of 2026. The data show that China's three major shipbuilding indicators all recorded substantial growth, with international market shares remaining globally dominant.

In the first half of this year, China's shipbuilding completion volume reached 36.50 million deadweight tonnes (dwt), up 51.2% year-on-year; new orders amounted to 121.06 million dwt, a surge of 173.1% year-on-year; and as of the end of June, orders on hand stood at 363.25 million dwt, an increase of 54.9% year-on-year.

From January to June, China's shipbuilding completion, new orders, and orders on hand accounted for 62.2%, 82.3%, and 71.2% of the global market, respectively.

In terms of ship exports, from January to June, export vessels accounted for 94%, 93.4%, and 92.1% of the national totals for completion, new orders, and orders on hand, respectively. China's ship export value reached US$31.62 billion.

Li Yanqing, Vice President of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry, noted that the global market boom that began in the first quarter of this year has continued into the first half, with China's shipbuilding performance remaining impressive. The growth rates for completion and orders on hand both exceeded 50%. Crucially, the surge in new orders is particularly remarkable – an extraordinary achievement.

Li Yanqing added that for three consecutive years, China has consistently accounted for over 68% of the global market share in new orders for green ships. In the first half of this year, China maintained this high proportion, with the pace of transformation toward mid-to-high-end segments accelerating steadily, and China playing a leading role in this regard.