China’s shipbuilding industry wants Beijing all aboard in bid to bridge tech gap with US, South Korea

China needs to ramp up its research in advanced marine materials to consolidate its role as a global shipbuilding leader while striving to narrow the technological gap with the US and South Korea, according to an industry leader and adviser to Beijing.

Although China continues to maintain an overall edge in the world’s shipbuilding market, the development of advanced shipbuilding and supporting industries, especially new materials technology, still lags behind developed countries, according to Wang Qihong, director of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s 725 Research Institute.