Chinese state media reports on Chinese vessel built in South Korea, highlights shipbuilding cooperation between the two countries

[Financial News] A Chinese state media outlet that recently urged South Korean shipbuilders to cooperate with China rather than the United States has reported on a Chinese cargo ship built at a South Korean shipyard. The outlet said the case demonstrates cooperation between the two countries in the shipbuilding sector.
On the 1st, Global Times, the English-language outlet of the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated newspaper, reported on the naming ceremony for an LNG carrier held in Geoje Island and Busan, South Korea, on the 28th and 29th of last month. The vessel is to be used in an LNG project jointly pursued by China Merchants Energy Shipping Co. (CMES) and QatarEnergy. Named “Rekraip,” it is the first of six 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers that CMES ordered from South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, and is expected to provide QatarEnergy with long-term LNG transportation services.
Global Times explained that the project is part of QatarEnergy’s plan to expand its fleet to support LNG production and exports. It also noted that, in addition to the six vessels being built by Samsung Heavy Industries, CMES has secured long-term transportation contracts for four 271,000-cubic-meter “QC Max” carriers under construction at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard.
Global Times reported that South Korean shipbuilders have long maintained a strong position in the construction of large LNG carriers, while Chinese shipyards are expanding their capabilities and winning more orders for advanced vessels.
Wang Feng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences in China, said, “The participation of Samsung Heavy Industries and Hudong-Zhonghua in the same project clearly demonstrates the two countries’ roles in meeting global demand for LNG transportation.” He added, “Cooperation between Chinese shipowners and South Korean shipyards is developing alongside competition between the two countries’ shipbuilding industries, particularly in the advanced-vessel market.”
Chinese state media recently urged South Korea’s shipbuilding industry to cooperate with China and Asia instead of pursuing “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA),” a shipbuilding cooperation initiative being advanced with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a commentary on the 30th of last month, Global Times stressed that “South Korea should be especially wary of the United States’ ongoing attempts to steal its shipbuilding capabilities and draw them into its own industrial structure.” It added, “To focus all resources on technological innovation and consolidate its position in high-value-added sectors, South Korea’s shipbuilding companies need the support of Asia’s industrial ecosystem. Attempts to sever industrial ties will ultimately weaken South Korea’s core competitiveness.”


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