Lethe
Captain
CSIS's point is meaningless. I can also say that the great number of commercial vessels orders will take up the construction of navy ship.
in other words, it will slow down the speed of navy ship construction and launch.
Indeed:
1962 marked the beginning of a major naval construction effort. A long-term program to expand China's shipyards began, emphasizing facilities for the construction of naval vessels largely at the cost of merchant ship construction. Dalian shipyard, for example, had been China's leading builder of merchant ships; by 1964, naval programs comprised the majority of Dalian's activity, and by 1967 there were no merchant ships under construction there at all.
CSIS shouldn't be worried about Chinese shipyards building merchant vessels. They should worry when they stop building merchant vessels.