China's shipbuilding industry built 8.5 million tons of ships in 2004, once again third most in the world, the position it has held since 1995, according to China's Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense (CSTIN).

The industry set records in both production volume and order volume, occupying 15 percent of the international market, said CSTIN spokesman Jin Zhuanglong. Last year the combined amount of existed orders and new orders for ship building accounted for 17 percent.

Major domestic shipbuilding companies have made breakthroughs in high tech sectors, he said.

China's ship building capacity exceeded Germany's for the first time in 1995, rising to third place behind the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan. In 2003, China has built 6.41 million tons of vessels, taking 11.8 percent of world's market and exceeding the 10 percent market share it had hovered at for a decade.