USA investigates how China has taken the seas

A US report reveals that China dominates shipbuilding and global maritime transport using unfair practices, affecting companies and threatening economic security

China is dominating the global sectors of maritime transport and shipbuilding by using unfair business practices, according to a US investigation reported by Freightwaves.

Held under section 301 of the Trade on Disloyal Practice Law, the investigation found that China had been directing specific industries for decades, undermining competition to achieve a dominant market share, according to the report released on January 22.

The results of the investigation, which began in April 2024, were summarized in a report by the United States Representative Office (USTR).

“For almost three decades, China has directed the sectors of maritime, logistics and shipbuilding to achieve domain and adopted increasingly aggressive and specific goals in the search for this domain in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors,” the report said, said the report .

“China has widely achieved its domain goals, severely damaging companies, workers, and US economy in general by reducing competition and business opportunities, as well as creating risks to economic safety due to premises and vulnerabilities.”

According to the report, in addition to reducing the competitiveness of US and other countries, the centralized and controlled strategy by the Chinese government also represents a threat to national security.

China’s participation in the global shipbuilding market increased from less than 5% in 1999 to more than 50% in 2023, raising its worldwide commercial fleet to more than 19% by January 2024, the report said.

According to the document, China controls 95% of the global production of transport containers and 86% of the worldwide supply of intermodal chassis.

Chinese strategy was driven by government policies that unfairly reduced costs or offered advantages, the report pointed out.

The report detailed China’s long -term goals for the industry scale and structure, as well as increasingly aggressive goals for participation in the global market at the expense of foreign companies in the naval construction sectors, maritime equipment, sea engineering, high vessels, high vessels, high engineering equipment Technology and Maritime Transport.

Taking the high -tech vessel sector as an example, China initially set a 20% goal of participation in the global market by 2011, but now aims to reach 50% by 2025. In the case of maritime engineering equipment, its initial goal of 10 % until 2011 increased to 40% by 2025.

The overall effect of these goals was to rule out foreign competition while increasing risks and reduced supply chain resilience for potential forced customers depending on China, the report said.

The report listed mechanisms used by China, including subsidies, forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft to reduce competition.

Dominance in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors also helped turn China a “world -class military power”, with national security implications for the US, the report concluded.