A bipartisan group of four US senators has urged President Donald Trump to take a firm stance against China's shipbuilding practices during his upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, warning that Beijing's policies have severely damaged the American maritime industry and undermined US national security. The letter, released on Monday, 12 May 2025, was signed by Senators Tammy Baldwin, Mark Kelly, Todd Young, and Tim Scott.

What the Senators Warned

The lawmakers explicitly urged Trump against offering any concessions to China on shipbuilding and maritime trade. "The United States is at an inflection point and cannot cede additional ground to the People's Republic of China (PRC)," the senators wrote. "The PRC's decades-long effort to decimate American shipbuilding as part of their effort to position themselves as the dominant global shipbuilding power affords them no grace or opportunity for compromise."

The senators attributed China's rise as the world's dominant shipbuilder to what they described as "unfair and discriminatory tactics", including state subsidies, government-backed financing, and non-market practices that have eroded US shipyard competitiveness over the past two decades.

China's Dominance in Global Shipbuilding

According to the letter, China accounted for more than 60 per cent of global commercial shipbuilding orders in 2025, while the United States lagged behind countries including South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Italy, and Germany. The senators described the decline of American shipbuilding as both an economic and a national security crisis, noting that domestic shipyards provide "good-paying and often union jobs" and maintain the industrial knowledge required to build vessels for military and commercial purposes.

Early Signs of US Policy Impact

The senators praised actions already taken by the Trump administration, including announced fees on Chinese-built ships docking at US ports and additional charges on companies using Chinese-built vessels. They pointed to a reported 25 per cent drop in Chinese shipyard orders between March and May 2025, following a determination by the US Trade Representative that China had used non-market practices in the sector. "The sudden decrease in Chinese shipping orders shows that when your Administration acts on this issue, the global maritime industry pays attention," the senators wrote.

The SHIPS for America Act

The lawmakers also urged Trump to support the bipartisan Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS for America) Act, which aims to revitalise the domestic maritime industry. Senator Baldwin, a vocal advocate for expanding shipbuilding capacity in the Great Lakes region, said rebuilding the sector would strengthen American manufacturing and create jobs.

Broader Strategic Context

The letter arrives as Washington and Beijing remain locked in sweeping strategic competition spanning trade, technology, military power, and industrial policy. Shipbuilding has become a growing concern for US defence planners, who argue that China's rapidly expanding naval and commercial fleet gives Beijing a long-term strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific. This comes amid ongoing US-China trade tensions and signals that maritime industrial capacity is fast becoming a core front in the two powers' rivalry. How Trump responds at the Xi summit could set the tone for US maritime and trade policy for years ahead.