China's shipbuilding industry maintained steady growth momentum in the first three quarters of the year, with the three major shipbuilding indicators continuously going up, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Thursday.
The latest data show that from January to September, China's shipbuilding deliveries, new orders and orders on hand all grew steadily, with the three major indicators accounting for 55.1 percent, 74.7 percent and 61.4 percent of the world market share, respectively. It is noteworthy that China has taken over 70 percent of the world's green ship orders and achieved full coverage of mainstream ship types. Green, high value-added and exclusive technologies became the new highlights of China's shipbuilding industry in the first nine months.
"No matter in terms of design, shipbuilding or supporting services, we have accelerated technological innovation and new technology applications and transition to a green and high-end shipbuilding industry. After the green transformation, the value of the three major ship types, namely, bulk carriers, oil tankers and container ships, is all increasing, which is a very important factor for us to make profits," said Li Yanqing, secretary-general of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry.
Among the world's 18 major ship types, China ranks first in the world in terms of new orders for 14 ship types. All shipyards have completed their operating targets for this year ahead of schedule as market demand is growing rapidly.
"In the first three quarters of this year, we received orders for civilian products worth 40 billion yuan (about 5.6 billion U.S. dollars), which is the highest in our history. As the current technology-driven shipping market is thriving, we are full of confidence in the future market," said Lin Qingshan, vice president of the Jiangnan Shipyard under the China State Shipbuilding Cooperation.
"In the first three quarters, we delivered 17 civilian ships. Hopefully we'll deliver a new high of eight LNG carriers within the year. We've also received 34 new shipbuilding orders, and have completed 200 percent of the operating orders planned for the whole year. Our production plans have been made for up to around 2030," said Weng Hongbing, president of Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding under the China State Shipbuilding Cooperation.
Shipbuilding industry grows steadily in Q1-3
A Chinese envoy reiterated the necessity on Wednesday for external armed forces and mercenaries to withdraw from Libya as soon as possible.
"The peaceful reconstruction of Libya is now at a critical stage, and to promote political transition is an important cornerstone to ensure its long-term peace and stability. China calls on all parties to continue to adhere to the general direction of a political settlement, strengthen dialog and consultation, and garner more consensus for the early resumption of political negotiations and establishing unified state institutions," said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council briefing on the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Dai called on the international community to continue to support efforts to seek African solutions to African problems and promote a political settlement to the Libyan issue. "We call for the respect for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Libya, and reiterate our urge that external armed forces and mercenaries be withdrawn from Libya as soon as possible in a smooth and orderly manner," he said.
He also called for easing antagonism and confrontation, and maintaining security and stability; and focusing on humanitarian challenges and improving people's livelihood in Libya.
Noting that Libya has experienced a long period of civil war and conflict with a seriously divided security structure, and some of the recent unilateral actions have worsened the fragile security situation, the ambassador called on all Libyan parties to put the interest of the country and the people first, remain rational and restraint, continue to strictly comply with the ceasefire agreement, implement the consensus of the 5+5 joint military commission, and work together to safeguard the hard-won detente.
Dai urged the international community to continue to provide support to Libya in strengthening counter-terrorism efforts and maintaining border security, and to scale up humanitarian assistance and provide more constructive support for its development and rebuilding.
He said China supports Libya to utilize its oil resources well and use oil revenues to improve people's well-beings, and called on the Security Council to pay effective attention to the concerns of the Libyan authorities regarding frozen assets abroad and work out a solution as soon as possible to protect Libyan people from losing their wealth.
China supports UNSMIL to play its due role in mediating the Libyan issue and make greater effort to advance political transition and achieve lasting peace in Libya, Dai said.
Chinese envoy urges external armed forces to withdraw from Libya
