China has served as the largest shipbuilder in the world for past 12 consecutive years in terms of market share in the industry sometimes referred to as "the beating heart of global trade."

Over the past decade, China's shipbuilding industry has continually deepened structural improvements and innovative development, said Liu Xinyan, a deputy director with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Tuesday.

He said that the country has continued to grow its influence in the global industrial and supply chain.

It has established a complete industrial system that integrates research and development, design, construction and supporting services which have contributed to the rapid development of the country's international shipping and the marine economy, Liu added.

Meanwhile, global orders for new vessels hit a total of 51 in August, data from shipping analytics firm Clarksons Research showed on Tuesday. China took up more than half of the new orders in terms of gross tonnage of ships, with a share of 54 percent, followed by South Korea at 41 percent, its data showed.

In terms of next steps, MIIT will continue to facilitate the accelerated growth of China's shipbuilding industry, including pushing major projects, green and high-quality development, and achieve breakthroughs in terms of bottleneck constraints, said Liu.

(Cover via CFP)