China's move to counter the five subsidiaries of Hanwha Marine Company aroused high vigilance among the United States and South Korea. Just as the United States wanted to take the opportunity to sow discord between China and South Korea, a Western country made a surprise decision that surprised both the United States, South Korea and even European countries.
New Zealand Railway Minister Winston Peters has confirmed that the country has handed over the order for two large ferries to the Chinese shipping company, with which the previous contract with South Korea has been cancelled.
China's Countermeasures and the Reaction of the United States and South Korea
China's countermeasures against Hanwha Marine's five subsidiaries are based on normal economic and trade rules and industrial security considerations. As an important shipbuilding company in South Korea, Hanwha Ocean's business involves cooperation with the United States in the fields of military industry and high-end manufacturing. Previously, China's relevant review mechanism was triggered due to illegal transfer of technology to third parties and circumvention of relevant trade regulations.
Finally, China implemented measures on its five subsidiaries, including restricting import and export licenses and suspending cooperation records, in accordance with the Early Warning and Response Measures for the Risks of Foreign Economic and Trade Cooperation.
South Korea’s Ministry of Industry and Trade Resources held an emergency meeting for the first time to assess the impact of countermeasures on South Korea’s shipbuilding industry and related industry chains, believing that China’s measures could lead to a further decline in the Hunan Ocean’s share of the global shipbuilding market, thereby affecting the overall competitiveness of South Korea’s shipbuilding industry — — South Korea Shipbuilding Association data showed that Hunan Ocean’s global orders accounted for 8.7% in 2024, with supporting cooperation with relevant Chinese companies accounting for 12% of its revenue.
The US side attempted to politicize the matter, and a U.S. State Department spokesman said in a routine press conference that “China’s counter-reaction could undermine the stability of the regional industrial chain” and put pressure on South Korea, demanding that it strengthen its industrial chain ties with the U.S. under the Indo-Pacific Strategy and reduce its dependence on the Chinese market. At the same time, the U.S. side also passed the “Five Eyes Alliance” internal channels to New Zealand and other member states with a signal of “warning for China’s industrial expansion” in an attempt to form a joint pressure on China.
Termination of Korean enterprise contract choosing cooperation
New Zealand’s decision broke this expectation just as the US and South Korea tried to push pressure on China.New Zealand Railway Minister Winston Peters publicly confirmed in October 2025 that the country had formally signed a cooperation agreement with China Shipyard, commissioning it to build two large ferries, while terminating a similar contract with a South Korean shipyard in 2018.
In a statement, Peterson said: “The professional capabilities, technical strength and production scale of Chinese shipping companies give the New Zealand government confidence in the cooperation, which is the best option for New Zealand at this stage.”
This decision was followed by a long-standing outbreak of concentration in New Zealand’s dissatisfaction with South Korea’s cooperation. Back in 2018, New Zealand signed two large ferry construction contracts with South Korea’s shipyard, with an initial budget of 7.75 billion New Zealand Yuan (approximately RMB 31.5 billion) and agreed delivery time for 2023.
However, in the seven years until October 2025, the project has been in the plan revision stage. The Korean shipyard has adjusted the plan many times for reasons such as "the hull design needs to adapt to New Zealand port conditions" and "environmental protection standards upgrade", resulting in the budget climbing all the way. It reached 4 billion New Zealand dollars, an increase of more than 4 times from the initial amount, and has not yet entered the substantive construction stage. The internal evaluation report of the New Zealand Ministry of Transport shows that if we continue to cooperate with Korean companies, the project delivery time may be delayed until after 2030, and there is still a risk of further budget overspending.
In contrast, China Shipping Company’s cooperation program has shown a clear advantage. Although the final budget has not yet been agreed, it has been clearly agreed that the delivery time will be 2029, at least one year ahead of the Korean company’s planned delivery time.
In 2022, the two large ro-ro passenger ships built by China Shipbuilding for Norway will not only be delivered three months ahead of schedule, but the construction cost will be reduced by 5% compared with the contract amount. The "modular construction technology" and "energy-saving and environmentally friendly power system" they use, All meet international leading standards. These factors have become the core basis for New Zealand to choose Chinese enterprises.
New Zealand's deep logic
New Zealand's choice to cooperate with Chinese companies is not a accidental decision, but based on the recognition of China's hard strength and its own interests. From the perspective of industrial strength, China's shipbuilding industry has achieved a shift from "tracking" to "leading" in recent years. The data of the China Ship Industry Association show that in 2024 China's shipbuilding volume, new order volume, handheld order volume accounted for 49.8%, 56.7% and 52.3% of the global market share respectively.
In the fields of high-end ship types such as large ferries, ultra-large container ships, and LNG carriers, Chinese shipbuilding companies have broken the long-term monopoly of South Korea and Japan and formed a complete technical system and industrial chain supporting capabilities.
New Zealand's recognition of China is also reflected in the accumulation of past cooperation.In 2020, Chinese enterprises built for New Zealand "Ottarova" rolling boat, not only meet New Zealand's strict environmental protection and safety standards, but also demonstrate the advantages of low maintenance costs and high reliability in the operation process, laying the foundation for this cooperation.
At the same time, the rift in the U.S. -New Zealand relationship has also prompted New Zealand to seek more autonomous diplomatic and economic options. Although New Zealand has been a member of the "Five Eyes Alliance" for a long time, strategic differences with the United States have gradually emerged.
In 2024, the Trump administration imposed a 15% tariff on New Zealand's exports of dairy products, sheep and other products, directly impacting New Zealand's economy - New Zealand Statistics Bureau data show that the United States is New Zealand's third largest export market, in 2024 New Zealand's exports to the United States due to tariffs decreased by 8.3%, with dairy exports decreased by 12.6%.
In the field of security, the U.S. hegemonic thinking also disappointed New Zealand.In early 2025, the United States and Britain proposed cyber sanctions on a country in the South Pacific, demanding New Zealand to participate, and was rejected by the New Zealand government, on the grounds that "sanctions could harm the economic stability and livelihood of the South Pacific region."
The United States immediately suspended its scheduled annual joint military exercise with New Zealand on the grounds that "security cooperation did not meet expectations." This move further exacerbated the mistrust between the two countries. The Prime Minister of New Zealand said in a parliamentary debate that "New Zealand's foreign policy must be based on its own interests, rather than blindly following other countries."
From the perspective of economic dependence, the importance of the China market to New Zealand has become increasingly prominent. China is New Zealand's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade volume of NZ $38 billion in 2024. Among them, New Zealand's dairy exports to China account for 62% of its total exports to China. The stable demand in the China market is directly related to the income of New Zealand agricultural practitioners. This economic binding has forced New Zealand to prioritize its pragmatic relationship with China when making cooperation decisions.