In 2021, China’s fleet became the world’s largest by number of ships, totaling 355. While the U.S. Navy remains the global naval leader by tonnage, China’s advantage has led both the Trump administration and Congress to join forces to revitalize U.S. shipbuilding. Yet, recent developments from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) show that China’s naval power is also a qualitative competitor to the United States. These advancements have put the U.S. innovation advantage on shakier ground.
tirsdag 2. desember 2025
Bigger and Better: How China's Fleet is Getting More Dangerous
“Bigger fleets win” has long been an axiom of naval warfare. But, as China has learned, winning at sea is a matter of quality as well as size. While the United States is turning back toward shipbuilding to meet China’s naval challenge, China is already a step ahead and scaling up the quality of its fleet. The shrinking gap between the quality and quantity of China’s fleet is a major challenge for the U.S. in its efforts to revitalize its maritime statecraft.
In 2021, China’s fleet became the world’s largest by number of ships, totaling 355. While the U.S. Navy remains the global naval leader by tonnage, China’s advantage has led both the Trump administration and Congress to join forces to revitalize U.S. shipbuilding. Yet, recent developments from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) show that China’s naval power is also a qualitative competitor to the United States. These advancements have put the U.S. innovation advantage on shakier ground.
In 2021, China’s fleet became the world’s largest by number of ships, totaling 355. While the U.S. Navy remains the global naval leader by tonnage, China’s advantage has led both the Trump administration and Congress to join forces to revitalize U.S. shipbuilding. Yet, recent developments from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) show that China’s naval power is also a qualitative competitor to the United States. These advancements have put the U.S. innovation advantage on shakier ground.
