China’s shipbuilding industry wants Beijing all aboard in bid to bridge tech gap with US, South Korea
- Director of research institute under the China State Shipbuilding Corporation has reiterated pleas in state media for more technological advancements in strategic shipbuilding sector
- Calls come after US naval officer’s visit to allies South Korea and Japan to elevate shipbuilding partnerships
China needs to ramp up its research in advanced marine materials to consolidate its role as a global shipbuilding leader while striving to narrow the technological gap with the US and South Korea, according to an industry leader and adviser to Beijing.
Although China continues to maintain an overall edge in the world’s shipbuilding market, the development of advanced shipbuilding and supporting industries, especially new materials technology, still lags behind developed countries, according to Wang Qihong, director of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s 725 Research Institute.
“China can basically achieve self-sufficiency in general marine engineering equipment and material support for mainstream ships, but there is still a big gap in basic research on advanced materials for high-value ships and in extreme working conditions,” said Wang, who is also a delegate to the National People’s Congress, referring to liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, large cruise ships, and polar research vessels.
In particular, South Korea still has a commanding lead in high-value-added orders, such as for LNG carriers.
