An aerial drone photo taken on May 8, 2026 shows a view of the factory of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) (Tianjin) Shipbuilding Co Ltd in North China's Tianjin. [Photo/Xinhua]
After covering China's shipbuilding industry for nearly a decade, I have recently noticed a new trend that is not immediately visible in global order books or production rankings.
Experts at the Beijing-based China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry told me the industry's ecosystem is expanding beyond shipyards and traditional suppliers to include robotics, industrial software, artificial intelligence, advanced materials and clean-energy companies.
Modern shipbuilding has evolved far beyond assembling steel plates into a hull. Today it integrates millions of components and hundreds of mechanical, electrical and digital systems.
Nothing illustrates this transformation better than Adora Magic City, China's first domestically built large cruise ship constructed by China State Shipbuilding Corp in Shanghai.
