Washington’s efforts to challenge China’s shipbuilding facilities have reverberated throughout the worldwide maritime sector.

Once more, American shipbuilders won’t be present at an important yearly conference for the international shipbuilding sector, indicating that the U.S. continues to go alone as it aims to rejuvenate its marine industry.

Washington has sent shock waves across the industry in recent months with its aggressive policies targeting China’s dominant shipyards, which include plans to
charge steep fees
Each instance when a vessel linked to China docks at an American harbor.

The US
states that the policy is essential
To combat China’s unjust trade tactics and enable U.S. shipbuilders to be more competitive, yet this action has
sparked intense backlash
And talks in the marketplace regarding collaborative defensive actions.

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Representatives from China’s shipbuilding sector informed a visiting Japanese group in Beijing recently that they believe “matters of global concern” ought to be addressed during the upcoming JECK Top Executive Meeting, an important yearly gathering for leaders in the industry.

The JECK gathering — where shipbuilding leaders from Japan, Europe, China, and South Korea convene — used to be called the JECKU summit, since the United States would typically participate as well.

However, America hasn’t sent delegates to the assembly since 2023 and will likewise miss the summit in October hosted by Japan. The rationale for the U.S. pullout from the event remains undisclosed.

Following their regular session with Japanese officials the previous week, delegates from the quasi-governmental Chinese Shipbuilding Industry Association provided only vague remarks about the topics covered during the discussions.

Li Yanqing, who leads the association, stated, “The JECK conference mechanism now stands as the premier yearly gathering for the global shipbuilding sector.” He added, “We will provide our complete backing to this initiative.”

The conventional setup for the gathering includes each group delivering accounts of the financial situations within their particular areas, along with separate analyses of markets and debates about obstacles confronting the sector.

The complete schedule for the conference has not been released as of now. Currently, all attention is focused on Washington’s aim to establish an American commercial fleet with the intention of countering China.

Previously, the U.S. was exclusively represented at the summit by General Dynamics NASSCO based in San Diego, as reported by the Shipbuilders’ Association of Japan.

The limited presence of the U.S. delegation probably mirrored America’s minimal role in the shipbuilding sector. As of February, American shipyards accounted for under 1 percent of worldwide active orders, compared to China, Japan, and South Korea, which held shares of 63.62 percent, 12.33 percent, and 12.05 percent, respectively, based on figures from Clarksons.

“Surprisingly, the U.S. participated in global organizations related to shipbuilding despite having shipyards that didn’t truly compete with commercial yards in countries like Japan or South Korea,” stated Ralph Leszczynski, who leads research at the shipbroking and maritime services firm Banchero Costa.

Basically, their role was merely observational.

Leszczynski continues to doubt whether the US can successfully develop a competitive shipbuilding sector essentially from nothing—a task that would necessitate considerable funding and detailed strategizing.

He mentioned that they wouldn’t stand a chance competing with China or South Korea on pricing.

The United States is also exerting efforts to persuade shipping firms to exclude Chinese ships from their fleets and is collaborating to achieve this objective.
forge closer ties
along with South Korea and Japan to sideline China’s shipbuilding industry.

However, Leszczynski stated that it would be extremely challenging for shipyards in South Korea or Japan to substantially boost their production capabilities in the near future.

Furthermore, shipyards might hesitate to invest heavily for an extended period due to uncertainties about how long the U.S. will keep its limitations on vessels from China, he noted.

The CEO of Japan’s biggest shipping company, NYK, Takaya Soga, expressed similar pessimism regarding the capacity of Japanese and South Korean shipyards to increase their output for replacing ships built in China.

Japanese shipbuilders are expected to operate at nearly maximum capacity through 2028, while their South Korean peers have encountered significant financial challenges over the past twenty years, complicating efforts to increase production in the short term, as stated by Soga at last week’s Singapore Maritime Week conference, according to Reuters.

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The article initially appeared on the South ChinaMorning Post (www.scmp.com), which serves as the premier source for news coverage of China andAsia.

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