The Essential National Security Economics of the U.S. Navy - Part 3
China’s Industrial Shipbuilding Machine
If Newport News is the crown jewel of U.S. shipbuilding, then China’s shipyards are the roaring steel mills of naval mass production. Where America has one or two specialized yards, China has lined its entire coastline with ship factories, each one sprawling over acres of concrete, steel, and cranes. The numbers are almost too big to believe, and they explain why the Chinese navy, the People’s Liberation Army Navy, has grown faster than any other fleet in the world.
Let’s take this geographically, because rattling off Chinese names is not helpful to most American listeners.
Near Shanghai, along the Yangtze estuary, sits China’s biggest and most modern naval yard. This complex covers about 3 square miles—that’s roughly six times the size of Newport News. Here, China built its newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which is undergoing trials. This same yard also produces the Type 055 destroyers, ships so large that many Western analysts call them cruisers. These are 13,000-ton warships bristling with missiles, radar, and modern electronics. The scale is astonishing: in one aerial photograph, you can see three destroyers under construction, two frigates being fitted out, and a carrier moored alongside, all in the same shot.
Farther north, up near Dalian, is another massive yard. This is where China built its second carrier, the Shandong. The yard itself is enormous, rivaling the biggest commercial yards in the world. It has multiple dry docks and long assembly halls, enough to keep dozens of major hulls in progress at once.
West along the coast, near Huludao, sits China’s nuclear submarine yard. This facility is shrouded in secrecy, with covered halls that keep satellites from seeing what is being built inside. What we do know is that this is where China’s nuclear-powered submarines are produced. The yard has been expanded in recent years, and it now has the ability to construct multiple submarines at the same time.
Down south, near Guangzhou, China operates another cluster of yards that specialize in frigates, corvettes, and amphibious ships. These yards have been pumping out smaller but still capable warships, like the Type 054 frigates and the Type 056 corvettes. They have also built China’s landing helicopter docks, the Type 075 amphibious assault ships. These look very much like small aircraft carriers and can carry helicopters, landing craft, and marines—perfect tools for operations in the South China Sea or even Taiwan.
When you add it all up, China’s shipbuilding machine is unmatched. In just four years, their biggest yards launched nearly 40 major warships totaling over half a million tons of displacement. That is more steel in the water than most countries have in their entire navy. And they did it while still building commercial vessels—container ships, tankers, LNG carriers—on the side. That commercial activity keeps the yards running at full tilt, ensures a steady flow of workers and materials, and means the workforce never loses its edge.
Contrast this with America. Newport News might launch one carrier every eight to ten years. Bath Iron Works might produce one destroyer at a time. Ingalls might push out an amphibious ship every couple of years. Meanwhile, China is sliding multiple destroyers into the water every few months, plus frigates, plus amphibious ships, plus a carrier. The difference is not just one of numbers; it is one of industrial philosophy. China treats shipbuilding the way America once did during World War II—as a strategic industry that underwrites national security.
Now, there are caveats. Chinese ships are not all at the technological level of their American counterparts. Their carriers are not nuclear-powered, their catapults are new and unproven, their submarines are still quieter than ours. But quantity has a quality all its own. When you can flood the seas with hulls, even if they are not individually as advanced, you change the balance of power.
So here is the picture: while Newport News represents unmatched specialization, China represents unstoppable scale. One yard in Virginia versus multiple mega-yards stretching from the north of China all the way to the south. America builds a few nuclear masterpieces. China builds fleets. That is the gap we are staring at today.
If Newport News is the crown jewel of U.S. shipbuilding, then China’s shipyards are the roaring steel mills of naval mass production. Where America has one or two specialized yards, China has lined its entire coastline with ship factories, each one sprawling over acres of concrete, steel, and cranes. The numbers are almost too big to believe, and they explain why the Chinese navy, the People’s Liberation Army Navy, has grown faster than any other fleet in the world.
Let’s take this geographically, because rattling off Chinese names is not helpful to most American listeners.
Near Shanghai, along the Yangtze estuary, sits China’s biggest and most modern naval yard. This complex covers about 3 square miles—that’s roughly six times the size of Newport News. Here, China built its newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which is undergoing trials. This same yard also produces the Type 055 destroyers, ships so large that many Western analysts call them cruisers. These are 13,000-ton warships bristling with missiles, radar, and modern electronics. The scale is astonishing: in one aerial photograph, you can see three destroyers under construction, two frigates being fitted out, and a carrier moored alongside, all in the same shot.
Farther north, up near Dalian, is another massive yard. This is where China built its second carrier, the Shandong. The yard itself is enormous, rivaling the biggest commercial yards in the world. It has multiple dry docks and long assembly halls, enough to keep dozens of major hulls in progress at once.
West along the coast, near Huludao, sits China’s nuclear submarine yard. This facility is shrouded in secrecy, with covered halls that keep satellites from seeing what is being built inside. What we do know is that this is where China’s nuclear-powered submarines are produced. The yard has been expanded in recent years, and it now has the ability to construct multiple submarines at the same time.
Down south, near Guangzhou, China operates another cluster of yards that specialize in frigates, corvettes, and amphibious ships. These yards have been pumping out smaller but still capable warships, like the Type 054 frigates and the Type 056 corvettes. They have also built China’s landing helicopter docks, the Type 075 amphibious assault ships. These look very much like small aircraft carriers and can carry helicopters, landing craft, and marines—perfect tools for operations in the South China Sea or even Taiwan.
When you add it all up, China’s shipbuilding machine is unmatched. In just four years, their biggest yards launched nearly 40 major warships totaling over half a million tons of displacement. That is more steel in the water than most countries have in their entire navy. And they did it while still building commercial vessels—container ships, tankers, LNG carriers—on the side. That commercial activity keeps the yards running at full tilt, ensures a steady flow of workers and materials, and means the workforce never loses its edge.
Contrast this with America. Newport News might launch one carrier every eight to ten years. Bath Iron Works might produce one destroyer at a time. Ingalls might push out an amphibious ship every couple of years. Meanwhile, China is sliding multiple destroyers into the water every few months, plus frigates, plus amphibious ships, plus a carrier. The difference is not just one of numbers; it is one of industrial philosophy. China treats shipbuilding the way America once did during World War II—as a strategic industry that underwrites national security.
Now, there are caveats. Chinese ships are not all at the technological level of their American counterparts. Their carriers are not nuclear-powered, their catapults are new and unproven, their submarines are still quieter than ours. But quantity has a quality all its own. When you can flood the seas with hulls, even if they are not individually as advanced, you change the balance of power.
So here is the picture: while Newport News represents unmatched specialization, China represents unstoppable scale. One yard in Virginia versus multiple mega-yards stretching from the north of China all the way to the south. America builds a few nuclear masterpieces. China builds fleets. That is the gap we are staring at today.