China Completes $16B CSSC-CSIC Merger Forming World's Largest Shipbuilder

China has completed a major consolidation in its shipbuilding industry by merging its two largest state-owned enterprises, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), creating the world's largest shipbuilder by assets and revenue. This $16 billion merger, approved in 2025 but initiated in 2019, streamlines operations, reduces internal competition, and strengthens China's global shipbuilding dominance with CSSC now commanding over $56 billion in assets and $18 billion in annual revenue. The merger supports China's broader military-civil fusion strategy, enabling dual-use production of commercial vessels and high-end warships in the same facilities, thereby accelerating naval expansion at relatively low costs. Chinese shipbuilding now vastly outpaces U.S. production, with one Chinese shipbuilder alone producing more commercial tonnage in 2024 than all U.S. shipyards combined since World War II. The consolidation also optimizes resource allocation across over 80 subsidiaries and more than 200,000 employees, while benefiting from decades of substantial state subsidies and financing that provide China with an unmatched cost advantage. This industrial realignment has global implications, influencing international maritime power dynamics and attracting orders from major foreign clients, including some aligned with Washington.