How China’s $100B+ Shipbuilding Empire Dominates the U.S.’s | WSJ U.S. vs. China

China has transformed into a shipbuilding powerhouse over the past two decades, cementing its status as a major maritime power. In 2023, more than half of the world’s commercial shipbuilding came from China, while the U.S. accounted for less than 1%.

WSJ takes a look at the strategies that led to this growth and examines where the U.S. stands as naval competition heats up.

Chapters:
0:00 China’s growing shipbuilding industry
0:34 Differences in naval capacity
3:18 Differences in shipbuilding
6:24 Differences in strategic advantages

U.S. vs. China
This original video series explores the rivalry between the two superpowers’ competing efforts to develop the technologies that are reshaping our world.

#China #Navy #WSJ

[tewat]

America：On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, it's the China-collapse theory; on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, it's the China-threat theory. Sundays are for rest and relaxation.🤣🤣

[LY-cyvs]

US has more than 300 military bases surrounding China, and you blaming China for building ships.

[csm]

China had been building the largest and most elaborate naval fleet in the world during the Ming Dynasty before America even existed.

[vervetech]

US can't stop thinking about war 😂

[KingOfNaraka]

Is the US going to complain about China over-capacity on ship building, too?

[MGZetta]

Yeah, building 51% of all ships means they build more ships than the rest of the world combined.

[MileyHumphrey-qljp]

Recently bought some recommended stocks and now they are just penny stocks. There seems to be more negative portfolios in the last 3rd half of 2023 with markets tumbling, soaring inflation, and banks going out of business. My concern is how can the rapid interest-rate hike be of favor to a value investor, or is it better avoiding stocks for a while?

[DeannaMurray-zv]

Overall, 51% of traders think this year would favor stocks, mutual funds, and other equity-based investments, despite Treasury yields and other safer cash-like investments paying big. I’m looking for opportunities in the market that could fetch me $1m ahead of retirement by 2025

[gxjbkct]

this story failed to mention US never achieve market dominant in commercial ship building cause the quality and cost simply not competitive on a global scale

[Benny-txqd]

As a Chinese, I want western media stop talking my country and focus on your own country.

[pyjwkpp]

When your opponent criticizes you, that means you are on the right track, so focus on self improvement no matter what they say

[ABb-eujk]

Is it all China's fault again？？？？？？？

[chillsteplife]

The real problem is China main focus is always on the commercial side. While US main focus is military. One actually makes economic sense, while the other just drains the tax payers. 😭

[gunsumwong]

US is run by mainly lawyers whereas in the China leadership many are engineers. I am an engineer too. To build ships I know the following facts (all information are from Internet and youtubes videos but be fact checked with data in public domain)

(1) Ships are built using mostly steel. China overtook Japan in 1996 to become the world’s biggest steel producer when Japan made over 100 million tonnes and US was the next with 95 million tonnes. China has since been the biggest steel producer consecutively for 28 years. In the last 4 years China made more steel than the rest of the world combined while the latest steel production of US in 2023 was 80 millions tonnes or even smaller than 28 years ago!

(2) To make ship one needs electrical power and at competitive price. In 2023 the published electricity tariffs shows US tariff is 2.25 times of China who has been able to maintain the cheapest electricity among the industrialized nations for decades. China is the world leader in renewable energy in each of hydro, wind and solar. Last year in 12 months alone China installed 217 GW solar power which is more than the national total of any country. The second runner-up US at the end of 2023 has just 179 GW solar power capacity.

(3) To be able to build ships a nation needs order to keep the industry going. In 2005 China was the 4th largest shipbuilder with just 13.4% world market. In tonnage China built only 1/3 of what South Korea did then. In 2017 China became the world leader in shipbuilding. In 2023 China delivered ships globally 50.2%, received new global orders 66.6% and global orders still on hand 55%. US has never been a global shipbuilding competitor since WW2.

(4) To run a large manufacturing global industry a nation needs manpower. To start China has a population 4 times the US. More crucially to build ships engineers are essential. It was reported in Internet that in the 10 years period between 2013 to 2022 China had produced 1.7 million graduate engineers at the time the US turned out 120, 000 (ratio 14:1). The general shortage of suitable engineers was only exposed after TSMC could not fill its vacant positions when starting up a new semiconductor plant in the US.

(5) Cost of a naval ship built in the US has been reported 4 times of China. This was from a report by the American navy!

(6) Any large industry competing internationally must rely heavily the support from a large domestic market. China in 2023 has owned 249.2 tonnes vessels, globally 16.9%, overtaking Greece’s 249.0 million tonnes, globally 15.8%, to become the world’s biggest owner of ships. Thus China also has the world’s biggest merchant navy fleet now. When a ship docks it needs ports. Out of the world’s 10 biggest ports 7 are in China. The Chinese port in Shanghai handles more goods than the entire fleet of ports in the US.

(7) The organic shipbuilding in China is a natural progression to support the economy and trades. Its navy is just a complimentary by-product. Like China in 2023 became the world’s biggest car exporter and found itself having almost no Ro-Ro ferry to export its Evs. So BYD immediately put in an order of 8 Ro-Ro ferries and is making use of the first one just delivered. In contrast the US has no need to expand its navy for defence because there has been zero external attack. Its navy has been used just for the purpose to defend American’s interest. In reality US acts hegemonically to harass other weaker countries as the self-elected policeman and executioner of the world. However with the biggest national debt of over $34 trillion increasing at a rate of $1 trillion every 100 days US is hard up to re-vitalize its shipbuilding except by enlarging it debt burden bigger to sink itself even faster downwards.

[seitherecorderofworlds]

ships can be used for leisure, for transport, for cargo, etc. how come this video only talks about war?

[danysl]

Anything that US can’t do, must be China’s faults. Sounds so familiar these days.

[wenling]

If USA does not spend $3 trillion for wars in the past 2 decades, USA can have a decent shipbuilding industry

[gulyascredo]

This video was posted yesterday? China's 003 aircraft carrier was launched on June 17, 2022, two years ago...

[mysticalwind]

One side always complains, criticizes and bad mouths the other side all the time.
The other side diligently gets things done.

[glennalexon]

That’s an industry, not an empire. Read a book, WSJ.