China's shipbuilding industry continues to grow rapidly with
shipbuilders getting new orders totaling 16.08 million deadweight
tons in the first half of the year, a 113-percent rise over the
same period last year, the National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC) said Thursday.
The NDRC said shipbuilders hold total orders of 50.92 million
deadweight tons in the first half of the year with an increase of
43 percent, accounting for 20 percent of the world's market
share.
The national Medium-and Long-Term Plan of the Shipbuilding
Industry, which was approved in August by the State Council, said
the industry should accelerate its restructuring and upgrading to
become strong enough to drive the growth of related sectors.
China's shipbuilding industry saw production reckoned by
deadweight tonnage accounting for up to 17 percent of the world
market in 2005.
The plan stated that China needs to break the bottleneck of
insufficient production capacity of auxiliary sectors and develop
the ability to independently design high-technology ships and ocean
engineering equipment.
The plan said the production of the country's shipbuilding
industry was expected to take more than 25 percent of the world
market.
(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2006)