China's imports of S. Korean shipbuilding parts surge through April

SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- China's imports of shipbuilding parts and equipment produced by South Korean firms surged this year, aided by the neighboring country's drive to nurture key industrial sectors, a report showed Monday.

According to the report compiled by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), China's imports of South Korean shipbuilding parts and equipment reached US$28.3 million in the first four months of the year, sharply up 37.6 percent from a year earlier.

During the cited period, China's overall purchase of such parts edged down 0.9 percent on-year to $71.5 million, the report said.

South Korea is the fourth-largest supplier of shipbuilding-related parts for China after Germany, Japan and the United States.

A sharp increase in imports from South Korea is largely due to China's long-term plan to boost its global standing in the heavy industrial sector, the state-run trade promotion agency said.

Last year, China's production of shipbuilding equipment reached some 26 trillion won (US$22.9 billion), more than doubling over the past five years.

According to KOTRA, China is keenly interested in importing parts used for the construction of liquefied natural gas carriers as South Korea is the dominant global player in the building of such specialized vessels.

sam@yna.co.kr
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