The Dragon Goes Green: How China’s Shipyards Found Calm After the Storm

The one-year suspension of US sanctions has offered Chinese shipyards a needed window to rebuild momentum after early-year slowdowns caused by looming tariffs on Chinese-built ships.

Between January and October 2025, global newbuilding orders accounted for 112 million dwt corresponding to 1,417 vessels, with 67% of the total capacity placed in China. This represents a sharp decline from Jan-Oct 2024, when orders reached 184 million dwt for 2,451 ships, with 74% of the capacity placed in Chinese shipyards. The agreement between Presidents Trump and Xi in Busan on 30 October 2025 paused Section 301 measures, port fees, and export restrictions for twelve months, providing relief to global shipping markets.

Beyond easing trade pressures, this truce supports China’s long-term green ambitions in shipbuilding. With carbon-neutral goals shaping the industry, Chinese yards have precisely captured this market demand, leveraging years of technical expertise to independently develop eco-friendly vessels. Policy support has played a key role: in late 2023 Beijing issued the Shipbuilding Industry Green Development Action Outline (2024-2030), designed to establish a comprehensive green development system for the sector. In China, around 25% of all new orders placed each year between 2022-24 were green ships, although this share has declined in the Jan-Oct 2025 period to 16% (in number of ships).

Despite recent progress, China still trails traditional shipbuilding powers such as Japan and South Korea in several high-end segments, where breakthroughs in core technologies remain essential. Yet, viewed across the global orderbook, China has retained its dominant position: it now accounts for an estimated 60% of dual-fuel ship contracts, ahead of South Korea’s 25% and Japan’s 5% share. By stark contrast, US shipyards represent less than 1% of global commercial output, a structural gap unlikely to narrow soon despite a confirmed strategic cooperation with South Korea through multiple partnerships.

The temporary suspension of US sanctions has provided China’s maritime industry with a crucial tailwind. Backed by its industrial scale, policy support for greener shipbuilding, and renewed trade stability, the nation’s yards are once again sailing ahead: calm after the storm and steering the global race toward a net-zero future.