China’s president Xi Jinping has called on Chinese shipyards to raise their competitiveness and seize opportunities in the international market, during an inspection tour of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province, reports said.
The president’s inspection tour in Zhoushan on Monday included a stopover at Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard, where he encouraged Chinese yards to capture opportunities to compete globally, the local media reported.
Zhoushan city is home to one of China’s key marine economic development areas.
In 2014, Zhoushan shipbuilders generated shipbuilding and ship repair revenue of RMB76.2bn ($12.3bn), an increase of 14.4% year-on-year.
Zhoushan’s shipbuilders also produced marine equipment valued at RMB5.61bn last year, a jump of 44.4% compared to 2013.
Changhong International, the yard that Xi had dropped by, is among the country’s 60 ‘white list’ shipyards, a welcomed status which would give them priority over credit facilities from the local banks.
With China’s shipbuilding industry currently going through a recession marked by excessive yard capacity, high operating cost and narrow margins, the market consolidation and Beijing’s ‘white list’ policy would help to weed out the bottom-rung and speculative yards, steering the industry toward a more globally competitive position.
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