China built more than twice naval tonnage of US in 2024-25: Euronaval

PARIS — China built more than twice the naval tonnage of the United States in the 2024-25 period, narrowing the gap between the two countries’ navies, according to the World Defense Shipbuilding report published by Euronaval ahead of the 2026 edition of the naval defense show.

The combined tonnage of combat ships built by China in the two years through to December 2025 amounted to 636,208 tons, compared to 270,509 tons for the United States, according to data compiled by Flottes de Combat and French maritime industry association Gican.

China accounted for more than a third of the global naval tonnage constructed in 2024-25, based on the Euronaval report. U.S. lawmakers and congressional researchers have warned that China’s greater shipbuilding capacity, combined with delays and bottlenecks in U.S. naval shipbuilding, could hurt America’s ability to keep up with Beijing’s expanding fleet.

“We are seeing a fairly substantial expansion of naval forces, and consequently of shipbuilding,” said Philippe Missoffe, the general director of Gican, in a press briefing here on Tuesday. “We’re seeing an increase in power capabilities, particularly nuclear-powered attack submarines for example.”

Global naval construction overall was booming in the period, with 1.47 million tons of combat vessels built in 2024-25, compared with 959,671 tons in the prior two years. The value of global naval construction amounted to $123.9 billion, climbing from $81.8 billion in 2022-23.

The value of Chinese combat-vessel construction was US$43.5 billion in the latest two-year period, compared with $26.8 billion for the U.S., the report said.

China has reversed roles from 2022-2023, when production of the country’s naval yards amounted to 202,520 tons, compared with 245,703 tons for the U.S., according to the previous edition of the shipbuilding report published in 2024.

The U.S. fleet of combat vessels of more than 200 tons amounted to 3.11 million tons as of Jan. 1, 2026, compared to 1.44 million tons for China’s fleet, the report showed, That compares with 3.22 million tons for the U.S. and 1.3 million tons for China two years earlier.

Russia was in third place in terms of naval construction in 2024-25, with 149,056 tons built, followed by India with 76,430 tons and Italy with 53,700 tons. Turkey, France, Japan, South Korean and Romania rounded out the top 10 of naval builders.

The four-day Euronaval show, the world’s biggest maritime-defense exhibition, is set to kick of in Paris on Nov. 3. The number of exhibitors will be more than 40% higher than in 2024, according to the organizers.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——据欧洲海军协会在2026年海军防务展前发布的《世界防务造船报告》显示，中国在2024-2025年期间建造的海军舰艇吨位是美国的两倍多，缩小了两国海军之间的差距。

根据法国海军作战部队和法国海事工业协会Gican汇编的数据，截至2025年12月的两年内，中国建造的作战舰艇总吨位达到636208吨，而美国建造的作战舰艇总吨位为270509吨。

根据欧洲海军协会的报告，到2024-2025年，中国建造的海军舰艇吨位将占全球总量的三分之一以上。美国议员和国会研究人员警告称，中国强大的造船能力，加上美国海军造船业的延误和瓶颈，可能会削弱美国应对北京不断扩张的舰队的能力。

“我们看到海军力量以及造船业都在大幅扩张，”吉坎公司总经理菲利普·米索夫周二在新闻发布会上表示。“我们看到海军力量，特别是核动力攻击潜艇，正在不断增强。”

全球海军建设整体呈现蓬勃发展态势，2024-2025年度建造的作战舰艇总吨位达147万吨，而前两年仅为959,671吨。全球海军建设总值达1239亿美元，高于2022-2023年度的818亿美元。

报告称，过去两年中国军舰建造总值达435亿美元，而美国同期为268亿美元。

根据2024年发布的上一版造船报告，中国在2022-2023年间扭转了局面，当时中国海军造船厂的产量为202,520吨，而美国为245,703吨。

报告显示，截至2026年1月1日，美国排水量超过200吨的作战舰艇总吨位为311万吨，而中国同类舰艇总吨位为144万吨。两年前，美国的同类舰艇总吨位为322万吨，中国的同类舰艇总吨位为130万吨。

2024-2025年，俄罗斯海军舰艇建造量位居第三，达到149,056吨；印度以76,430吨位居第二，意大利以53,700吨位居第三。土耳其、法国、日本、韩国和罗马尼亚位列海军舰艇建造量前十名。

为期四天的欧洲海军展（Euronaval）是全球规模最大的海事防务展览会，将于11月3日在巴黎开幕。据主办方称，参展商数量将比2024年增加40%以上。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。