China shipbuilding industry in 2021 development review and future prospects

(3) International competition for ship supporting facilities has intensified

Competition, especially in the case of relatively limited market demand, competition is further intensified. In the field of Marine power equipment manufacturing, for example, domestic ship main engine manufacturing enterprises face fierce competition from South Korean enterprises, in Marine low-speed engine diesel products, foreign enterprises to almost "dumping" low prices, more abundant after-sales service content to attract shipowners orders, squeezed the market share of Chinese enterprises. The "catfish effect" produced by the competition of foreign enterprises has stimulated and even strengthened the competitive consciousness of Chinese ship supporting equipment enterprises to a certain extent. While enterprises rationally use trade rules to maintain the fair competition order in the market, they have further accelerated the design and development of new technologies and improved after-sales service to cope with external competition.

(4) Speed up the development of green ship repair and maintenance

Domestic ship repair enterprises have actively improved the capacity of green ship repair, and a large number of energy-saving and environmentally friendly ship repair equipment has been put into use, which has greatly promoted the construction of China's green ship repair system and standards. At present, China's ship repair capacity is basically concentrated in the Ningbo-Zhoushan coastal area, and the vast majority of backbone ship repair enterprises have fully applied new technologies and processes such as automatic rust removal, painting robots, intelligent monitoring, digital management system, and gradually introduced industrial AR technology, drone remote detection, non-contact thickness measurement and other technologies. Further promote the transformation of ship repair to automation, integration and intelligence.

(5) Shipbuilding to accelerate the "integration of the two" development

Shipbuilding industry enterprises accelerate the deep integration of informatization and industrialization, and promote the integration and development of information technologies, including big data and artificial intelligence, with all aspects of the life cycle of ship research and development, design, construction, operation, repair and maintenance. In the major shipbuilding provinces and cities in China, backbone ship enterprises have gradually promoted the upgrading and transformation of existing shipbuilding infrastructure, made up for the shortage of high-end equipment production infrastructure, and improved the automation and digitalization level of shipbuilding processes. Shipbuilding industry enterprises have further realized the importance of the "integration of the two", especially under the impact of the epidemic, advanced production technologies in the fields of information integration and intelligent manufacturing have been widely used. The main shipbuilding bases further promote the organization of modern final assembly shipbuilding mode, comprehensively apply fine management, establish a scientific and efficient production management system, promote intelligent production lines, and strive to build a world advanced all-factor industrial base integrating final assembly integration, system modules, core supporting facilities, and production services.

6. Intensive introduction of national and local support policies

In March 2021, the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China and the Outline of 2035 Vision Goals (referred to as the Outline) were officially released, clearly proposing to promote the innovation and development of the shipbuilding and Marine engineering equipment industry, and consolidate the competitiveness of the entire industrial chain in the shipbuilding field. We will promote the research and development and application of cruise ships, large liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, and deep-sea oil and gas production platforms, support research in cutting-edge scientific and technological fields such as deep-sea and polar exploration, and carry out the construction of the second phase of the Dragon Sea Exploration and the second phase of the Snow Dragon Polar Exploration.

Third, some thoughts on the future development of China's shipbuilding industry

The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and Clarkson Company's latest forecast that the growth rate of the global economy and shipping market will decline in 2022, and the driving force supporting the growth of shipbuilding demand will weaken. China's major shipping companies hold full orders, shipping arrangements are tight, the future will slow down the pace of orders. From the perspective of both supply and demand, China's ship market will enter a stable development period from a sharp rebound period in 2022. In the long term, especially in the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's shipbuilding industry is facing the major task of promoting high-quality development and building a shipbuilding country, and it must be clear about the development path from innovative development, green and low-carbon, comprehensive opening-up, and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises to help the sustainable and healthy development of China's shipbuilding industry.