After the White House restarted the Section 301 investigation against China, Chinese shipbuilding orders actually increased, which embarrassed people like Besent.
Reality has given Washington a slap in the face. Data from industry media Eworldship shows: In January this year, Chinese companies won 67% of global new shipbuilding orders; by February, this proportion surged directly to 80%. What does that mean? It means that out of every ten new ships globally, eight are "Made in China."
Where did these orders come from? It's not just developing countries buying them. A large number of orders actually come from Europe. As a traditional maritime power, Europe has extremely high requirements for ship quality, delivery time, and compliance. If China's shipbuilding industry were truly "unfair" or "low quality" as some American officials claim, Europeans would not be placing large orders at this time.
In February this year, China's Hengli Heavy Industry secured a major order from a Greek shipowner to build up to six 180,000-ton bulk carriers. Greece is one of the world's largest shipowning countries, and their choice represents the most rational judgment of international capital. Despite the shadow of the Section 301 investigation, European and Greek shipowners still chose China, indicating that in their eyes, the comprehensive advantages of China's shipbuilding industry have outweighed potential risks.
The data analysis from ING is very thorough: In shipbuilding costs, labor costs account for more than 20%, and China's labor costs are at least 50% lower than those of its Japanese or South Korean competitors. Plus, as a major steel producer, China can obtain the necessary steel raw materials for shipbuilding at a lower price. This cost advantage is obvious. In the current volatile shipping market, where shipowners are sensitive to costs, whoever can help customers save money will get the orders.
Dao Ge understands that the original intention of the U.S. restarting the Section 301 investigation was to suppress the development of China's high-end manufacturing through pressure and force the transfer of supply chains. According to the U.S. script, once the investigation is launched, global capital should leave China and move to Southeast Asia or other places.
However, the data shows that these manufacturing industries have not left China but have become even more dependent on Chinese production capacity. Dao Ge believes that this indicates that in the global shipbuilding industry chain, China has formed an irreplaceable position. Whether it's the completeness of the supply chain, the skill level of workers, or the high-tech barriers now overcome, none of these can be easily replicated in the short term.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1860050653127692/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.