An aerial view of a shipbuilding yard in Taicang, Jiangsu province, in March. (JI HAIXIN / FOR CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING - China remained the world's leading shipbuilder in the first half of this year, as its market share ranked first globally in output, new, and holding orders, official data showed.

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The country's shipbuilding output hit 18.5 million deadweight tonnes (dwt) in the January-June period, accounting for 45.2 percent of the world's total, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

New shipbuilding orders, another major indicator of the shipbuilding industry, came in at 22.46 million dwt in the first six months, taking up 50.8 percent of the global market share.

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By the end of June, China's shipbuilding holding orders rose 18.6 percent year on year to 102.74 million dwt, with a global market share reaching 47.8 percent, the ministry said.