“The truth is that 95 per cent of shipbuilding when it comes to new construction is right here,” Subajan Sivandran, a director for the French ship-inspection company Bureau Veritas, said at an industry forum in Shenzhen on Friday. “The innovation is happening here, whether that’s around the ship design or the equipment that needs to go into supporting different types of new fuels.”

“Without a doubt, this is the environment to foster all of that innovation and where we see that demand coming from.”

China is expected to lead the world in producing green methanol, a low-carbon shipping fuel derived from clean feedstocks like sustainable biomass and green hydrogen, at the lowest cost worldwide, according to Kelly Zhou, director of China market development at Methanex, the world’s largest producer and supplier of methanol. She did not provide a timetable.

China, which built more than half of all the world’s merchant ships last year, is looking to decarbonise its maritime industry following the enactment of the European Union Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism last month and a decarbonisation plan that is expected from the International Maritime Organisation next year.