China's early advantage in a shipbuilding war

Is China already building at war capacity, and who would build more ships in a war?

China likely has the short-term advantage, while a fully mobilized West could exceed it in a longer conflict.

China's immediately available production rate differs from the capacity Western states could mobilise over time. China has already raised output, whereas Western navies use only a fraction of their potential yards and shipbuilding space. That gives China the advantage in a short conflict because reopening capacity and training workers cannot happen at once. In a longer war, access to resources and a fully mobilised industrial base would give the West the higher ceiling. The comparison resembles the Pacific War in one important respect: an early production lead can be overtaken if the opponent survives long enough to bring a larger economic system into the contest.