BEIJING — China's shipbuilding industry registered strong growth during the first half of the year, official data shows.

The industry completed the construction of ships totaling over 20.92 million deadweight tons (dwt) from January to June, up 19 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

During the period, new orders received by the country's shipbuilders surged 206.8 percent from a year earlier, totaling 38.24 million dwt.

By the end of last month, China's shipbuilding sector had received orders amounting to 86.6 million dwt, up 13.1 percent year-on-year.

China has the world's leading shipbuilding industry, accounting for 44.9 percent of ship tonnage completed by the global shipbuilding industry and 51 percent of total new orders around the world during the first half of 2021, the data shows.