Chinese naval fleet expansion

China has significantly expanded its naval capabilities, increasing its fleet of warships and submarines to over 400 vessels. Since 2020, the country has added 71 large vessels, including 19 in the previous year alone. This expansion places China approximately 35% ahead of the United States Navy in terms of total vessel count, although the American fleet maintains a larger total tonnage.

The growth is supported by China’s massive commercial shipbuilding industry, which accounted for 52.6% of global commercial shipbuilding tonnage last year. This industrial capacity allows for the production of increasingly capable hardware, such as the Type 055 class. While China classifies these 13,000-ton vessels as destroyers, the United States classifies them as guided-missile cruisers.

Satellite imagery and Pentagon reports indicate a focus on vessels designed for operations further from the Chinese coastline, including amphibious ships like the 40,000-ton Sichuan. Projections suggest that by 2035, China could possess nine aircraft carriers, while the United States is expected to have 11. In contrast to China’s rapid growth, the United States faces challenges in expanding its fleet due to a weakened shipbuilding industrial base.