Source: Blog – Alliance for American Manufacturing
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The geopolitical ramifications of China’s shipbuilding supremacy are coming into sharper focus.
The Pentagon announced on Tuesday the addition of China’s largest shipping company, COSCO Shipping Holdings Co., and two shipbuilders to its list of “Chinese military companies” that operate directly or indirectly in the United States. The list is intended to highlight the role ostensibly civilian companies, universities, and research programs play in Beijing’s military-civil fusion strategy, which harnesses these entities’ advanced technology, intellectual property, and expertise for the advancement of China’s military and economy.
The blacklisting comes as the United States Trade Representative’s Section 301 investigation into China’s maritime and shipbuilding practices continues. The inquiry launched in April 2024 in response to a petition filed by the United Steelworkers and four other unions, which charged that China’s domination of global shipbuilding is not a lead that it developed through fair economic activity.
Indeed, a litany of market manipulating practices, including forced technology transfers and staggering financial support from the state, have supercharged Chinese shipyards. Today, China manufactures more than half of the world’s shipbuilding while United States shipyards flounder. Though once a global shipbuilding leader, the U.S. now only produces 10 oceanic commercial vessels annually while China produces more than 1,000.
“The largest obstacles to shipbuilding in the United States are the unfair trade practices of China. While no nation should be faulted for seeking to develop maritime capabilities, Beijing’s ambitions go well beyond that,” Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul testified before the House Select China Committee this past June.
Meanwhile, Capitol Hill is working on its own response to the growing specter of Chinese shipyards. This past December, Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Reps. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) introduced the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act. The bipartisan legislation aims to revitalize the critical sector through consistent funding and domestic shipbuilding incentives.
The public, too, has shown alarm at China’s shocking maritime advantage. An overwhelming majority (82%) of U.S. adults agree that China’s shipbuilding dominance is concerning, with 32% saying it’s “very concerning,” recent polling revealed.
As tensions with China increase, the economic and security implications of its vast shipbuilding capacity are appropriately coming under greater scrutiny. Strong investment in America’s domestic shipbuilding capacity is an essential part of the solution. The U.S. must work to re-establish our leadership in maritime commerce and defense.
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