China seeks greater role in global shipbuilding

BEIJING (Xinhua) -- China will strive to become a leader in global shipbuilding by 2015, the country's industrial authority said Monday.
Over the next three years, the industry's structure will become more rational, and its innovation and overall quality will be significantly improved, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a development plan for the ship industry during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).
"During the 11th Five-Year Plan, China's ship industry experienced rapid growth," according to the plan.
China had become the world's largest ship builder by 2010, when it built ships with a total deadweight capacity of 65.6 million tonnes. The country occupied a 43.6 percent share of the global ship market that year.
But the ministry said further development is vital to enhancing China's national strength and transport security as well as refining its use of marine resources.
"By 2015, overall scientific and technological strength of China's ship industry will leap to a leading position in the world," the plan said, adding that China will foster more than 50 world-renowned brands that meet latest international standards.
The ministry said that China will build shipbuilding bases in the Bohai-Rim region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta into world-class bases by 2015.
The industry's degree of concentration will be significantly boosted, with the ten largest ship builders producing more than 70 percent of all ships produced in China, and there should be more than five Chinese companies among the world's ten largest ship builders.
Prompted by the plan, shipbuilding companies listed on China's stock exchanges were one of the greatest gainers Monday, with the sub-index for the sector rising 2.2 percent.