Chinese shipyards from being mere shipbuilders in the 1990s are today the industry leaders. Over the last three decades, the Chinese shipbuilding industry has witnessed a phenomenal rise that has transformed it from a 'basic ship producer' to an industry, focusing on 'high technology' and 'support equipment'. This has allowed them to dominate the world market in both commercial and naval shipbuilding segments with 70 per cent of China's shipbuilding produce being exported to 91 countries and regions, including countries like Greece, Norway, US, UK, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. This enormous growth has been aptly supported by a judicious mix of public and private enterprises in the field of science, technology, and innovation that provides many a lesson for the world. While the naval shipbuilding has been evaluated and studied in much detail by various researchers, this essay aims to identify the efforts and strategies that have supported the growth of commercial shipbuilding in China. In doing so it aims to look at possible lessons to be drawn by developing maritime nations for their own growth.