China exported US$40.3bn-worth of ships and boats in 2010, up 42 per cent on the previous year, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs. Its imports of such items fell by nearly one-third to US$1.68bn.

The three major categories of vessel exported were bulk carriers (worth US$20.95bn), oil carriers (US$6.2bn) and container carriers (US$3.83bn).