Insight Focus
China is a dominant force in global shipping. Its state-backed and private companies excel in ocean carriers, ports, shipbuilding, and equipment manufacturing. Despite geopolitical tensions, China’s vast shipbuilding capacity, extensive ports, and global presence ensure continued leadership and resilience in maritime trade.
China Commands the Global Shipping Industry
China has traditionally been a major player in the shipping sector, with activities spanning from shipyards to liner operations, and from equipment manufacturing to port and terminal operations.
The majority of Chinese shipping-related companies are owned, controlled, or affiliated with the Chinese state, which traditionally invests in the shipping sector with the aim of establishing a strong global presence. However, there are also a number of important privately owned, China-based players in the industry.
In exploring China’s shipping supremacy, we will focus on the major Chinese/China-related companies in key shipping industry sectors.
COSCO Grows Fleet and Revenue on Transpacific Surge
Starting with ocean carriers, COSCO SHIPPING Lines is a dominant force in the global market, operating over 550 container ships on more than 400 routes and calling at approximately 650 ports across around 150 global regions.
COSCO SHIPPING Lines is the fourth-largest ocean carrier globally in terms of container capacity, with nearly 3.4 million TEUs and a 10.5% market share. The Chinese container carrier has around 70 ships on order, totalling 1.15 million TEUs, aiming to further enhance and modernise its global fleet.
COSCO is part of the Ocean Alliance, alongside the French shipping giant CMA CGM and Taiwan’s major carrier Evergreen. Ocean Alliance is the largest container shipping grouping in terms of overall capacity and is the only one that remained unchanged after the alliance restructuring in February 2025.
In 2024, COSCO SHIPPING Lines moved over 18.3 million TEUs, generating annual revenue of approximately USD 220 million. Notably, the Transpacific routes contributed the most to the company’s revenue, followed by intra-Asia services and Asia-Europe connections.
Chinese Terminal Giants Strengthen Global Port Control
In the port and terminal operations sector, China Merchants Port (CMPort) and COSCO SHIPPING Ports (CSP) stand out both domestically and globally. These are two of the largest operators worldwide, managing key assets critical to the global shipping market.
CMPort, headquartered in Hong Kong, has an extensive port network across China’s coastal hub ports, with terminals under its control or investment in key areas including the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Bohai Rim. In recent years, CMPort has expanded its international footprint, operating in over 45 ports across more than 25 countries and regions in Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, South America, and North America.
Shantou, Qingdao, Xiamen, Shenzhen, and Zhanjiang represent CMPort’s main domestic operations, while Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Togo are among its most notable international investments.
In 2024, CMPort’s container throughput reached 145.75 million TEUs, a 6% year-on-year increase, while bulk and general cargo throughput neared 560 million tonnes, up 0.3% year-on-year.
Source: CMPort Annual Report
COSCO SHIPPING Ports, the primary terminal operator of the COSCO Group, maintains a strong presence in both domestic Chinese ports and overseas facilities. The company operates in all of China’s major ports, including Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Dalian, and Yantian, and holds important stakes abroad—such as Piraeus Terminal (Greece), CSP Valencia Terminal (Spain), Antwerp Terminal (Belgium), and Euromax Terminal (Netherlands) in Europe; Suez Canal Terminal and Red Sea Gateway Terminal in the Middle East; and Seattle Terminal in North America.
In 2024, COSCO SHIPPING Ports handled 144 million TEUs, marking 6% year-on-year growth, and recorded USD 1.5 billion in revenue, representing a 3.3% year-on-year increase.
Source: CSP
China Commands Over Half of Global Shipbuilding Orders
China is by far the world’s leading shipbuilding nation, holding more than 50% of all vessel newbuilding orders across all ship types. According to the BRS Shipbrokers Annual Review, China’s total shipbuilding capacity rose by 12% in 2024, reaching 47.8 million deadweight tonnage (DWT). Meanwhile, BRS analysts note that the majority of Chinese shipyards are fully booked for the next three to four years, with no delivery slots available before the end of 2028.
Source: BRS
According to the Review, in 2024, China led newbuilding orders across all major segments—bulk carriers, tankers, and container vessels—with the only exception being LNG carriers, where South Korea remains dominant, although analysts question how long this will last.
Top Five Shipbuilders in China Dominate Orderbook
According to BRS data, the five largest Chinese shipbuilding groups held about 70% (approximately 180 million DWT) of the national orderbook in 2024. Notably, their combined share of the global orderbook rose from 33% in 2023 to 46.5% in 2024.
Leading the pack is the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), the world’s largest shipbuilding company, which controls 34.2% of China’s orderbook and 23% of the global orderbook by DWT. In 2024, CSSC secured new orders totalling 48.2 million DWT, over three times more than South Korea’s top shipbuilder, HD Hyundai.
Source: BRS
New Times Shipbuilding (NTS) and Yangzijiang, China’s two largest private shipbuilders, rank second and third with orderbooks of 24.6 million DWT and 23.4 million DWT, respectively. Globally, they rank third and fourth in terms of DWT. New Times held 8.3% and Yangzijiang 5.7% of global ship orders in 2024.
COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (CSHI), previously China’s second-largest shipbuilder, has slipped to fourth place with 8.8% of the domestic orderbook. It ranks fifth globally with 5.9% of the world’s total.
Hengli Shipbuilding rounds out China’s top five. A newcomer launched by Hengli Group through the acquisition of the former STX Dalian facility, Hengli has amassed an orderbook of about 20 million DWT in just two years, making it the sixth-largest shipbuilder globally.
Amid this surge in newbuilding activity, China has entered a new phase of shipbuilding expansion—nearly 20 years after the boom that first propelled it to global prominence. Once completed, this new expansion is expected to add approximately 200 more ships per year to global shipbuilding capacity.
BRS analysts have identified eight newly opened or reopened shipyards, six shipbuilding groups launching major capacity expansions, and two previously domestic-only yards that have now entered the international market with fresh orders.
Global Port and Shipping Equipment Manufacturing
China is also home to several major players in port and shipping equipment manufacturing.
Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), based in Shanghai, is a global leader in crane manufacturing and large steel structures with a strong presence in automated port solutions. ZPMC machines are equipping several port facilities in more than 100 countries and regions worldwide.
The company’s eight main product categories are:
1. Supply of large-scale port container machinery and bulk material handling machinery for ore and coal.
2. Supply of heavy offshore products, such as floating cranes, pipelay vessels, and other engineering vessels.
3. Supply of large heavy and special steel structures.
4. Supply of marine transportation and installation.
5. System integration and overall project contracts.
6. Electrical products, software development, and integration.
7. Investment and financing.
8. Integrated services.
China International Marine Containers (CIMC) is the largest container manufacturer in the world. The Shenzhen-based firm supplies equipment and services across various sectors, including containers, vehicles, energy, chemical and food equipment, offshore, logistics services, and airport facilities among others.
CIMC operates 11 factories with a total capacity of 2 million shipping containers per year. Founded in 1980 through the merger between China Merchants Group and East Asiatic Company, the company provides all types of containers, ranging from dry boxes to modular container homes, targeting markets in North America, Asia, and Europe.
Dong Fang International Container Group (DFIC), based in Shanghai, is the second-largest container manufacturer in the world with six factories and a total annual capacity of 1.8 million cargo containers. DFIC specialises in the production of dry and reefer boxes. Singamas and CXIC Group Containers follow, each with a capacity of 900,000 containers per year. Singamas is headquartered in Hong Kong, with its nine factories located in Jiangsu, a Chinese province north of Shanghai, where CXIC’s three factories are also based.
China Remains Resilient Amid Geopolitical Tensions
China has been at the epicentre of several geopolitical tensions over recent months. Trump’s tariffs sent shockwaves through the global shipping industry, with China among the most severely affected. While subsequent agreements have calmed the tariff dispute between Beijing and Washington, industry stakeholders remain cautious about potential developments—or even escalation—in Trade War 2.0.
Another aspect of US opposition to China involved Chinese influence over the Panama Canal. US President Donald Trump claimed that China had taken over the strategic waterway, benefiting from terminal operations in Balboa and Colón managed by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports. In response to US pressure and threats, Hutchison Ports withdrew from the Panama Canal, selling its entire overseas portfolio to a BlackRock/MSC consortium.
While geopolitical events may disrupt Chinese shipping and port operations globally, the Asian nation remains well-equipped to navigate such challenges. With world-leading capabilities in shipbuilding, container manufacturing, and global port and liner operations, China has established itself as a maritime superpower—leveraging its dominance to shape broader political and economic dynamics worldwide.
China’s vast cargo port capacity provides a significant strategic advantage. Home to some of the world’s largest and busiest container ports—including Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin, and Xiamen—China is deeply embedded in the global supply chain, serving as a key hub for hundreds of ocean carrier services.
Despite rising pressures, China is likely to maintain its pivotal role in global shipping, transportation, and logistics, demonstrating resilience in the face of disruption and continuing to lead the global maritime industry.
