On the eve of a new round of high-level Sino-U.S. meetings, U.S. politicians have once again targeted China's shipbuilding industry. Bipartisan senators have jointly written to President Trump, urging him to maintain a tough stance on China's shipbuilding sector in negotiations with China.
According to reports, Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin, Republican Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona, as well as Republican Senators Tim Scott of South Carolina and Todd Young of Indiana, stated in their letter to Trump that China's actions over the past decades have "devastated the U.S. shipbuilding industry," forcing the United States to utilize its trade measures to the fullest extent possible in response.
At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15. This marks the second face-to-face meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States following their summit in Busan last October, and the first visit to China by a U.S. president in nine years. President Xi Jinping will hold in-depth exchanges of views with President Trump on major issues concerning Sino-U.S. relations and global peace and development.
During their meeting in Busan last October, the U.S. side agreed to suspend the implementation of its Section 301 investigation measures against China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries for one year. Following the U.S. suspension, China also suspended its corresponding countermeasures against the United States for a year.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched a Section 301 investigation into China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors in April 2024. On April 17, 2025, the U.S. side announced the Section 301 investigation measures, deciding to impose additional port service fees on vessels owned or operated by Chinese companies, Chinese-built vessels, and Chinese-flagged vessels starting October 14, 2025.
In a report released last January, USTR pointed out that China has long pursued dominance in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors, setting increasingly aggressive and specific goals. China has largely achieved its dominance goals, severely harming U.S. companies, workers, and the overall U.S. economy, creating economic security risks through reduced competition and commercial opportunities, as well as through dependencies and vulnerabilities.
In their letter to Trump, the bipartisan U.S. senators stated: "The United States is at a critical turning point and can no longer cede more ground to China. We urge you to maintain a tough stance in these negotiations and join us in advancing trade remedy measures and the SHIPS for America Act to create a level playing field."
First introduced in December 2024 and re-submitted in revised form in April 2025, the SHIPS for America Act primarily includes expanding the fleet of U.S.-built and U.S.-flagged vessels, increasing investment in workforce training, providing tax credits for domestic shipyard and manufacturing investments, and allocating $2.5 billion in funding support for domestic shipbuilding projects over the next decade.
Unlike USTR's one-size-fits-all fee mechanism, the SHIPS for America Act specifically targets China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), imposing higher fees on vessels built by its shipyards. Currently, the SHIPS for America Act still faces obstacles in Congress, including disagreements over funding mechanisms and regulatory details.
The letter noted that the threat of U.S. port fees caused a 25% slump in new orders for Chinese shipyards last spring, though orders rebounded later in the year after the fees were delayed.
"The sudden drop in Chinese shipyard orders demonstrates that when the Trump Administration acts on this issue, the global shipping industry takes serious notice," the senators wrote. They added that these port fee measures represent "a necessary and urgent step to expand America's industrial base, drive economic growth, and safeguard national security."
It is understood that after USTR released its Section 301 plan targeting China's shipping, logistics, and shipbuilding industries last February, proposing port service fees on operators with Chinese-built vessels in their fleets and those potentially ordering vessels from China, new ship orders at Chinese shipyards declined significantly. From March to May last year, Chinese shipyards' share of new orders fell below 30%.
Notably, non-Chinese shipyards, led by those in South Korea and Japan, maintained stable order intake during this period, indicating that overall global demand did not collapse—only Chinese shipyards saw a sharp decline in orders, confirming that U.S. policy measures were indeed impacting shipowners' willingness to place orders with Chinese yards. However, this impact was only temporary. By the summer of 2025, Chinese shipyards' order intake began recovering, with their market share rebounding to over 65% in June and reaching 84% in August.
According to data from Clarkson Research, global new ship orders totaled 2,036 vessels representing 56.42 million Compensated Gross Tons (CGT) last year. Chinese shipyards secured 1,421 vessels totaling 35.37 million CGT, accounting for 63% of the global market—down from 71% in 2024 but still ranking first worldwide. Moreover, Chinese shipyards have led the world in monthly new orders for 13 consecutive months since April last year.