China's Navy Expanding at Breakneck Speed, Catching Up with the U.S.

“Socialism is good…” a pensioner sings into a portable karaoke mic, slightly off-key and nearly drowned out by chatter.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy now fields 234 warships. (Photo: United States Navy)

Friends join in for the chorus: “The Communist Party guides China on the path to power and wealth!” 

It may not be the catchiest tune, but it fits the view before them: cranes towering over a vast shipyard filled with vessels of all sizes, Laura Bicker reported for BBC News.

Suoyuwan Park in Dalian, overlooking one of China’s largest shipyards, is a place for locals to relax. For analysts in Washington, however, it symbolizes a growing threat.

Over the past two decades, China has poured massive investment into shipbuilding, winning more than 60% of global orders this year. “The scale is extraordinary… in many ways eye-watering,” said Nick Childs of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“The Chinese shipbuilding capacity is something like 200 times that of the US.”

That dominance extends to its navy. The People’s Liberation Army Navy now fields 234 warships, outpacing the US Navy’s 219.

China’s rise has been fueled by maritime power: it hosts seven of the world’s 10 busiest ports, critical to global trade, and its coastal cities thrive on commerce.

China’s rise has been fueled by maritime power: it hosts seven of the world’s 10 busiest ports, critical to global trade, and its coastal cities thrive on commerce.

As Beijing’s ambitions expand, so too does its naval arsenal — and its willingness to assert itself in the South China Sea and beyond. President Xi Jinping’s China clearly aims to “rule the waves.” Whether it will succeed is the open question.