BEIJING, Oct. 15  -- The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) will form a joint venture with American cruise company Carnival Corp to build China's first luxury cruise ship.

The move will accelerate development of the country's cruise industry and foster new growth points of the Chinese economy which is experiencing a slowdown, said Hu Wenming, chairman of CSSC, in Beijing on Wednesday.

China's cruise market is developing fast with the number of passengers growing from several thousand in 2005 to 570,000 last year, figures from the China Communications and Transportation Association showed.

By 2020, the cruise industry is expected to contribute 51 billion yuan (8.30 billion U.S. dollars) to the country's economy, the association said.

Hu said China currently needs about 50 luxury cruise ships and the number is expected to rise further in coming years.