BEIJING -- China's shipbuilding industry recorded sound development in the first half of the year, with double-digit increases in output, new orders and holding orders, according to official data on Wednesday.

The country's shipbuilding output hit 21.13 million deadweight tonnes (dwt) during the period, increasing 14.2 percent year on year and accounting for 49.6 percent of the world's total, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows.

New orders, another major indicator of the shipbuilding industry, rose 67.7 percent year on year to 37.67 million dwt, with a global market share of 72.6 percent.

The sector's holding orders totaled 123.77 million dwt at the end of June, expanding 20.5 percent year on year. The volume represented 53.2 percent of the global market share.