【By Chen Sijia, Observer News】After the United States unilaterally imposed port fees on Chinese vessels, China took countermeasures and started to charge special port fees on American vessels. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post published an article on October 21st stating that this dispute over port fees has affected the global shipping industry. Industry insiders expect that although the additional fees charged by the United States have increased the pressure on shipping companies, China's leading shipbuilding industry still has advantages.

One of the world's largest container ship owners, the Canadian shipping company Seaspan, has expressed confidence in China's shipbuilding industry. Out of 170 ships ordered by the company over the past four years, 158 were built by Chinese shipyards, with a total cost of approximately 2.08 billion US dollars.

Chen Bing, President and CEO of Seaspan, spoke at the "2025 North Bund International Maritime Forum" in Shanghai, saying: "Leaving geopolitical factors aside, Chinese shipyards have clear competitive advantages in production capacity, price, quality, and delivery reliability." He pointed out that as the shipping industry gradually transitions to low-carbon and more environmentally friendly fuels, China's advantages may further expand.

In recent years, the shipping industry has been striving to replace traditional petroleum fuels with low-emission fuels such as liquefied natural gas and methanol. The industry is also paying attention to green methanol, which is produced using renewable energy and captured carbon. If green methanol can be produced on a large scale, the shipping industry plans to adopt this fuel.

Chen Bing said that China leads the world in installed solar and wind power capacity, and has abundant renewable energy resources. China also has sufficient biomass resources, and the cost of producing green methanol may be only half of that in Europe. He stated that the new energy era provides China with an opportunity to strengthen energy security and enhance its influence in global energy supply and pricing.

Chen Bing revealed that Seaspan has made retrofitting existing ships a strategic priority to ensure that in-service ships can fully realize their potential for low-carbon performance and be capable of using green fuels in the future. So far, almost all the retrofits have been carried out at Chinese shipyards.

Wan Min, Chairman of China COSCO Shipping Group, also stated that green transition is an essential path for high-quality development in the shipping industry. In 2024, more than one-third of the newly built and added capacity of China COSCO Shipping was powered by new energy and clean energy, and they have also begun retrofitting existing ships.

October 20th, Qingdao Port, Shandong, IC photo

Wan Min said that China COSCO Shipping will further strengthen innovative cooperation with ports both domestically and internationally, such as Shanghai and Rotterdam, to jointly build more green shipping corridors, green shipping hubs, and green fueling centers.

Steve Gordon, Director General and Global Head of Clarksons Research, stated at the forum that due to a series of adverse factors, the growth rate of global trade is expected to slow slightly this year. However, this slowdown must be viewed in the context of last year's background - last year was the strongest year for freight turnover growth in 15 years. In this context, China remains the largest market for the shipping industry, with about 31% of maritime transport related to China, while the proportion in the United States is only 12%.

He believes that the tariff war initiated by the United States has disrupted global trade and shipping, but it has also created opportunities. "Tariffs are an important issue, but we must remember that nearly 90% of seaborne trade does not go to the United States. There are many other important markets around the globe."

Fu Xuyin, member of the Party Group and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport, stated at the forum that in 2024, the national investment in fixed assets for water and land transportation increased by 9.5%, completing a total of 9.81 billion tons of water and land freight, 1.76 billion tons of port cargo throughput, and 330 million standard containers of container throughput, increasing by 4.7%, 3.7%, and 7% respectively. From January to August this year, the three indicators continued to grow, with increases of 3.8%, 4.4%, and 6.3% respectively, effectively supporting domestic economic and foreign trade development.

Data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last week showed that in the first three quarters of 2025, China's share of the three major shipbuilding indicators remained globally leading. Shipbuilding completed volume was 38.53 million deadweight tons, up 6.0% year-on-year; new orders were 66.6 million deadweight tons, down 23.5% year-on-year; as of the end of September, the order book was 242.24 million deadweight tons, up 25.3% year-on-year.

From January to September this year, China's three major shipbuilding indicators, measured in deadweight tons, accounted for 53.8%, 67.3%, and 65.2% of the world total, respectively, and accounted for 47.3%, 63.5%, and 58.6% respectively when measured in gross tonnage.

In contrast, the United States has been struggling with the decline of its shipbuilding industry. Currently, the United States accounts for less than 1% of the global commercial shipbuilding, far below China. To "contain" China, former U.S. President Trump instigated the port fee dispute, announcing on local time October 14th that additional fees would be imposed on Chinese vessels and vessels built in China that dock at U.S. ports.

However, Reuters reported in September that despite the U.S. imposing so-called port "service fees" on Chinese vessels to curb China's maritime dominance, global shipping companies are still ordering merchant ships from Chinese shipyards at full speed.

Brian Hart, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), stated that shipping companies are basically conducting business as usual. "So far, these policies do not seem to have significantly caused shipping companies to transfer their orders away from China."

To respond to the U.S. unilateral imposition of port fees on Chinese vessels, China has taken countermeasures and officially began charging special port fees on U.S. vessels on October 14th.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated on the 14th that the U.S. measures are a typical example of unilateralism and protectionism, seriously violating World Trade Organization rules, violating the principle of equal mutual benefit in the China-U.S. Shipping Agreement, granting unfair competitive advantages to relevant countries' shipping and shipbuilding enterprises, constituting discriminatory practices against China's shipping and shipbuilding industries, and seriously harming China's related industrial interests. China strongly opposes this and has announced on October 10th that it will impose special port fees on vessels involving U.S. flags, U.S.-built, or owned, participated in, or operated by U.S. companies.

The spokesperson emphasized that China's position on the relevant issues is clear and consistent. If you fight, we will follow through; if you want to talk, the door is open. China urges the U.S. to correct its wrong practices and work in the same direction as China to resolve the concerns of both sides through equal dialogue and consultation.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer News. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563666721932870159/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking the [top/beat] button below.