These major shipyards are China’s major shipbuilders and are churning out new warships at a rapid pace.

China’s shipbuilding industry is 230 times larger than the US, according to the latest estimates from the Office of Naval Intelligence, representing about 50% of the world’s total shipbuilding capacity. width.

Its dual-use shipyards, where both commercial and military ships are built, have been boosted by China’s growing position as the world’s largest shipbuilder.

And that industry builds a great navy. The Chinese Navy “is the largest navy in the world with a combat force of more than 370 platforms, including flagships, submarines, submarines, marines, mine warfare ships, pilots and naval auxiliaries,” the Pentagon. said last fall in its report on China’s military capabilities. And that figure doesn’t include about 60 Houbei-class fighters carrying anti-ship missiles.

China’s naval construction, in particular, has been noted by the US as a point of concern at a time when the Pentagon recognizes China’s military as its “speed challenge” and motivation for the US military’s decision to focus perspectives on the Indo-Pacific.

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The nation’s fleet is being built at an astonishing rate, boasting ever-increasing capabilities, and sometimes even showing remarkable leaps in technology. By 2030, the Pentagon expects that China’s PLAN will have a total combat force of 435 ships, an increase that is particularly noticeable in “large surface combatants.”

China’s naval shipyards

Looking at Chinese shipbuilding capacity, four shipyards stand out: Dalian in northeastern China, Huangpu Wenchong near Hong Kong, and the Jiangnan and Hudong-Zhonghua yards near Shanghai.

The four shipyards are operated by subsidiaries of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation and pump out various ships for the Chinese military while making record profits in the shipbuilding business. Other well-known shipyards include Bohai, the shipyard for China’s nuclear-powered submarines, and Wuchang, home of the Chinese Coast Guard’s flagship Haixun 06.

There are many yards throughout China, too, that produce military ships.

Shanghai’s shipbuilding industry is very important. Jiangnan Shipyard has been the site of many of China’s advanced naval vessels, including the third aircraft carrier CNS Fujian, with a new launch system, and Type 055 destroyers and Type 052.

Meanwhile, Hudong-Zhonghua has built other Chinese naval vessels, such as Type 075 amphibious attack ships, Type 071 amphibious transport dock, and Type 054 frigates.

China’s shipbuilding hub is Changxing Island, which was part of a major development that saw the merger of the newly expanded Jiangnan Shipyard and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard into one. China successfully migrated its naval base to make this possible, and it did so while shipping.

“It’s interesting; it’s a very Chinese way of doing things,” said Brian Hart, a China Power Project fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I don’t think there is any other country that has the scale and resources to take on and run such a large industrial complex.”

The China Power Project at CSIS has closely documented the progress of Chinese shipbuilding, including work on new shipyards and ships.

The combination of two major Chinese shipyards to build Changxing Island is a “clear sign” of one of China’s biggest shipbuilding powers, said Matthew Funaoile, senior fellow at CSIS’ China Power Project, he explained that “China is finding ways to be more efficient and more productive, and is using its industrial strength to improve its navy.”

China calls its Changxing Island operation a “shipbuilding center,” and recent satellite images have shown extensive construction at the shipyard. It also builds new ships.

The first Yulan-class attack ship, equipped with a fixed-wing aircraft launch system, is being built there. When completed, this ship, known as the Type 076, will be the largest wave attack ship in the world.

More than warships

But what makes some of these yards important is not just the warships that come out of them, although that is a big part of it; it is also the commercial ability to build ships.

For example, in Changxing Island and Dalian shipyards, Chinese shipbuilders are also rapidly building commercial ships. The dual-use nature of the shipyards is a key factor in China’s shipbuilding success, and its apparent investment in capacity reflects its focus on building up its navy and continuing the role of it is the main one in the shipping and shipbuilding industry.

Clearly, there seems to be little difference between the way some of these materials are used to produce military ships versus commercial ships. Both Funaoile and Hart said that the blurring of paths between industries at this scale of production is unique to China and one of the strongest factors in its shipbuilding regime.

“These investments show that China is in it for the long haul when it comes to shipbuilding, commercial and marine,” said Hart.

This shipbuilding process is motivated by China’s political ambitions and blue-water naval goals. By 2027, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping expects the PLA to be fully upgraded, giving the country the ability to attack Taiwan if it chooses to do so. And in 2049, China has national transformation goals to become a modern power with a “world-class military.”