China has completed the merger of its two state-owned shipbuilders, creating by far the world’s largest maritime manufacturer in the world.
According to The Wall Street Journal, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) has absorbed China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) in a $16 billion deal, finalizing a process launched in 2019.
The combined firm will manage over 530 vessel orders totaling 54 million deadweight tons, with assets valued at approximately $56 billion. It is expected to generate around $18 billion in annual revenue.
The two firms were originally one until Beijing split them in 1999 to foster competition.
The exact size of the merged company remains unclear but CSSC alone employs over 200,000 workers across 84 subsidiaries, nearly twice the size of the entire U.S. shipbuilding workforce.
Even before the merger, China already dominated the shipbuilding sector. According to the U.S. Navy, China’s shipbuilding capacity is roughly 232 times that of the United States. United Nations data shows that Chinese-built vessels accounted for about 55% of global shipping tonnage last year, while U.S.-made ships carried just 0.05%.
Chinese news outlet Yicai reported that in 2024, Chinese shipyards delivered 1,286 vessels totaling 39.1 million tons. By comparison, U.S. shipyards produced just 28 ships.
