The Rapid Rise of the Chinese Navy: 2025 Update
Introduction
Information from open and classified sources indicates that during the last decades, China has been undertaking an extensive program to modernize and expand its Armed Forces and especially its Navy. Today, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is the largest naval force in the world, surpassing the mighty U.S. Navy at least by the number of operational vessels. CCP’s clear aim is to challenge the American dominance in the Chinese Sea and beyond.
This article analyses the rapid development of the Chinese Navy, which is one pillar of the broader Chinese High Strategy to secure the national interests and prevail over the U.S. Navy, which still dominates the region and the world’s seas.
The Chinese Navy
Until the 1990s, the Chinese Navy comprised outdated vessels with limited capabilities, totaling around 150 main units, including destroyers, frigates, and submarines, and lacked any conventional aircraft carriers. Between 1990-1994, the U.S. launched 47 ships while China launched just 3. Since then, however, the balance has changed dramatically.
The modernization of the Chinese Navy can be traced back to 2012 when President Hu Jintao, during the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), called for the transformation of China into a maritime power. More recently, President Xi Jinping has emphasized the urgency of developing naval forces promptly. This directive was accompanied by a significant increase in defense spending between 2015 and 2020, positioning China as the world's second-largest military spender behind the U.S. The Navy's budget alone saw an enormous 82 percent increase, reaching $57 billion. Consequently, six shipyards across China have undertaken the task of building an advanced fleet capable of challenging the dominant U.S. Navy. The construction of these sophisticated warships aligns with the "Chinese Dream," President Xi's vision of a powerful China respected both domestically and internationally.
The results of this policy are remarkable. In 2018, China became the country with the most warships on order, surpassing South Korea with a 44 percent share of global orders. By the beginning of 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, China maintained a significant 35 percent share in global orders, demonstrating the resilience of its shipbuilding industry.
