[Source / Observer Network Wang Kaiwen] The 2025 Japan-Europe-China-South Korea Shipbuilding Enterprises Summit (JECK TEM 2025) will be held in Japan later this year. According to a report by the Hong Kong South China Morning Post on April 10, American shipyards will once again be absent from this important annual summit of the global shipbuilding industry, which is the latest indication of the United States choosing a "lonely path" in its efforts to revitalize its shipping industry.
The JECK Summit gathers executives from shipbuilding industries in Japan, Europe, China, and South Korea. Previously, this meeting was known as the Japan-Europe-China-South Korea-America Shipbuilding Enterprises Summit (JECKU), as the United States usually participated.
However, since 2023, the U.S. has not sent representatives to attend the meeting and will also be absent from the summit to be held in Japan in October this year. The reason for the U.S. withdrawal from this meeting has not been disclosed.
South China Morning Post noted that Chinese shipbuilding industry representatives expressed last week to the visiting Japanese delegation that the JECK Summit should discuss "global concerns."
According to information from the China Shipbuilding Industry Association, on April 1, Secretary General Li Yanqing of the China Shipbuilding Industry Association met with Deputy General Manager Saito of the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Association (SAJ).
Li Yanqing stated that the JECK meeting mechanism has become the most important annual summit in the world's shipbuilding industry. Each JECK Summit provides major shipbuilding enterprise leaders and executive teams with insights into the development of the world macroeconomic situation, the operation of the shipbuilding industry in relevant countries, and changes in important细分ship type markets, and creates space for exchanges between outstanding entrepreneurs from various countries and the establishment of industrial friendships.
It was introduced that the traditional format of the JECK Summit is for each delegation to submit reports on the economic conditions of their respective regions and separately introduce market situations and discuss challenges faced by the industry. The complete agenda for this year's meeting has yet to be announced. However, the South China Morning Post pointed out that the focus of the outside world is clearly on Washington's ambition to build an American commercial fleet to counter China.
U.S. President Trump recently called for "revitalizing America's shipbuilding industry," once again trying to save domestic industries through protectionism. The U.S. plans to impose high "port fees" on ships made in China, which has sparked strong opposition from the industry.
On April 8, container terminals at the Port of Long Beach, California, Visual China
In the eyes of industry insiders, these actions by the U.S. will not only fail to shake China's position in the shipbuilding industry but will also impact U.S. businesses and consumers.
According to the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Association, in the past, the only representative from the U.S. at the summit was General Dynamics NASSCO located in San Diego, California.
The report points out that the small size of the U.S. delegation may reflect the extremely small share of the global shipbuilding market held by the U.S.
Data from the internationally renowned maritime research consulting agency Clarkson shows that as of February this year, the volume of orders not yet completed by U.S. shipyards accounts for less than 1% of the total global order backlog, while Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean shipyards respectively account for 63.62%, 12.33%, and 12.05%.
Ralph Leszczynski, Research Director of the shipping brokerage and maritime services group Banchero Costa, said, "The fact that the U.S. has a place in those international shipbuilding associations is surprising because American shipyards actually do not compete with Japanese or South Korean commercial shipyards."
"In fact, their role is just as observers," he added.
Ralph Leszczynski expressed deep skepticism about whether the U.S. can effectively establish a competitive shipbuilding industry "from scratch," as it would require significant investment and meticulous planning.
"In terms of price, they will never be able to compete with China or South Korea," said Leszczynski.
While attempting to suppress China's shipbuilding industry, the U.S. also seeks to establish closer ties with related enterprises in Japan and South Korea to marginalize Chinese shipyards. A previous report by The Wall Street Journal noted that in early 2024, former U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro visited shipyards of Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean in South Korea and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan. He hoped to persuade the senior management of these companies to increase investments in the U.S.
However, Leszczynski said that South Korean or Japanese shipyards are unlikely to significantly increase capacity in the short term, and due to uncertainty about how long the U.S. will maintain restrictions on vessels built in China, Japanese and South Korean shipyards may be reluctant to make long-term investments.
Takuya Sugawara, CEO of Japan's largest shipping company NYK Line, also expressed pessimism about the ability of Japanese and South Korean shipyards to increase production to replace vessels built in China.
According to a Reuters report, Takuya Sugawara said during Singapore Maritime Week in late March that currently Japanese shipyards are operating at near full capacity and have little room for expansion before 2028. South Korean shipyards have faced "very poor" financial conditions over the past two decades, and their expansion plans will not be realized soon.
In February, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative proposed a plan to advocate imposing high "port fees" on ships manufactured in China entering U.S. ports. Reuters cited maritime experts as saying that if a ship is manufactured in China, operated by a Chinese shipping company, and the company also orders vessels from Chinese shipyards, the cumulative fee per docking could reach up to $3.5 million.
The World Shipping Council, representing the global ocean shipping industry, warned that an estimated 98% of ships globally would be charged fees when docking at U.S. ports. Kathy Metcalf, CEO of the American Maritime Association, also pointed out that replacing ships made in China is not as simple as flipping a switch, "punishing America's maritime transport system while combating China is an unacceptable outcome."
Reuters reported on April 8 that after facing joint opposition from multiple U.S. industries, the Trump administration considered relaxing the planned "port fees" on Chinese ships.
In response to the U.S.'s plan to impose "port fees," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning previously stated that levying port fees and imposing tariffs on cargo handling equipment harm both others and oneself, increasing global maritime costs, disrupting global supply chain stability, and also increasing inflationary pressure in the U.S., harming American consumers and businesses, and ultimately failing to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry. We urge the U.S. to respect facts and multilateral rules and immediately stop erroneous practices. China will take necessary measures to defend its legitimate rights and interests.
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