Chinese ships are carrying America’s cargo. The US wants to reverse that.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SINGAPORE—In 2002, with China’s shipyards producing just 8% of global commercial tonnage, then-Premier Zhu Rongji challenged his nation. “China," he said, “can hope to become the world’s No.

1 shipbuilding superpower." He was right. Last year, Chinese shipyards delivered 53% of global tonnage, according to Clarksons Research. With so many goods in the U.S.

imported from overseas, that means Chinese-made ships are essential to keeping American store shelves well-stocked. As it did in building its high-speed rail network and Olympic venues, Beijing flexed its top-down power to make a national priority happen. It set concrete targets, cleared red tape and poured, by one estimate, more than $90 billion in subsidies into Chinese shipbuilders.

China’s dominance has spurred President Trump and a bipartisan group of lawmakers to form a plan that would make America a shipbuilding power again. Step one in the plan: hurt China. The Office of the U.S.

Trade Representative last month proposed a fee of up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built ships docking in the U.S., an idea the Trump administration is preparing to implement quickly. The World War II commercial fleet that supplied American forces in the Pacific with reinforcements, weaponry and food is a distant memory. U.S.-built ships accounted for 0.1% of global commercial tonnage last year, Clarksons said.

China now possesses 232 times the shipbuilding capacity of the U.S., according to the U.S. Navy. The edge could be decisive if U.S.-China tensions in the Pacific turn into a prolonged armed conflict, said Seth Jones, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank.