image source, Video surveillance
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- Author, Benny Lu
- Author title, BBC Chinese Service
Experts say China’s third aircraft carrier, launched in November 2025, vastly outnumbers the other two and brings Beijing closer to its goal of challenging U.S. dominance in the Western Pacific.
The 80,000-ton Fujian, named for the mainland province closest to Taiwan, can carry up to 70 aircraft, a mix of fighter jets, helicopters and early warning aircraft capable of detecting long-range threats, coordinating air defenses and conducting precision strikes.
In addition to giving the Chinese Navy a new level of reach and flexibility, the ship is also a statement of intent.
The aircraft carrier is the first in China to have a flat flight deck with electromagnetic catapults, allowing it to launch heavier aircraft and carry more fuel and weapons. The United States is the only other country that has this capability.
“This brings China’s aircraft carrier strike groups to a new level, far surpassing (its other two aircraft carriers) the Liaoning and the Shandong,” William C. Chung of Taiwan’s National Defense and Security Research Institute told the BBC China Service.
“Of course, the deck design and electromagnetic catapult greatly improve the takeoff and landing efficiency of aircraft. Aircraft carriers with ski jumps (as opposed to those with flat decks) force pilots to sacrifice ammunition for weight, which limits operational flexibility,” he said.
image source, Getty Images
State media hailed the Fujian as an “important milestone” in the development of China’s navy.
The Asian giant will now be able to engage in “gunboat diplomacy” on par with the US, Chung told the BBC, adding, as the newspaper put it: New York Timesfrom “defensive modernization” to “offensive power projection”.
And Chinese President Jinping Xi’s statement, “The Pacific is big enough for the United States and China,” sums up this commitment to parity.
China has expanded its navy at a dizzying pace under Xi and now has more ships than any other country, putting pressure on the United States and its allies.
Xi “personally” decided that the Fujian should use electromagnetic catapults, state media reported. And he led the lavish commissioning ceremony in the southern island province of Hainan, inspecting aircraft and praising their pilots as heroes.
Dressed in military green, Xi gave a speech from the flight deck to rows of sailors who waved and chanted.
“Follow the Party’s orders, fight for victory, and maintain excellent conduct!” demanded the president.
image source, Getty Images
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has described the Fujian as a “rapid deterrent force” capable of carrying attack aircraft and amphibious ships for invasions.
“In peacetime, the Fujian provides a similar deterrent effect to the use of US aircraft carriers. In the long term, it enables global reach with the possibility of deployment in the Middle East, Africa or Europe,” Chung told the BBC.
Beijing has long viewed Taiwan, a self-governing country, as part of its territory and has promised to one day reunite without ruling out the use of force.
Satoru Nagao of the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute also noted that the Fujian has the potential to threaten Taiwan’s eastern defenses from the Pacific.
“Deployment of the Fujian there would support amphibious assaults against these defenses,” he explained.
However, American forces at naval bases in Okinawa, Japan, and South Korea, Guam, and even the Philippines could easily counterattack. In addition, all 11 US 100,000-ton aircraft carriers have nuclear propulsion.
image source, AFP via Getty Images
Chung said the Fujian’s diesel engines and China’s lack of major overseas ports would mean it would require frequent resupply from support ships, severely limiting its combat capability.
In an assessment of Fujian published in October 2025, Aita Moriki of Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies wrote that China still faces “many technological and personnel challenges.”
“In other words, the overall combat capability and experience of the Fujian and other Chinese aircraft carriers are still significantly different from those of the U.S. military that has fought in actual combat,” Chung admitted.
“You have three aircraft carriers, we have eleven, and we have been doing this for decades,” US Rear Admiral Brett Mietus told the newspaper. Washington Post in September 2025.
image source, AFP via Getty Images
However, the development of high-tech missiles may have reduced the overall military importance of aircraft carriers. And even with electromagnetic catapults, pilots still have to perform dangerous takeoffs and landings on a deck rocking from the waves.
“As artificial intelligence (AI) technology for (unmanned) drones matures, aircraft carriers will become more cost-effective and become the main force,” Nagao said.
However, China is already building a fourth aircraft carrier, satellite images show. The plan is to further expand the fleet and, according to experts, rely on nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In addition, experts predict a maritime arms race between the USA and China.
“Even the US is building new aircraft carriers, proving their lasting value,” said Jiang Hsin-biao of the National Defense and Security Research Institute in Taipei, which is supported by the Taiwanese Defense Ministry New York Times.
“The threats are relative and exist for both sides, whether it is China or the USA.”
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