China commissions Fujian, its third aircraft carrier
“Beijing brought the Fujian into active service, boosting a fleet that already includes Liaoning and Shandong.”
Key points
- Beijing brought the Fujian into active service, boosting a fleet that already includes Liaoning and Shandong.
- The EMALS-equipped carrier is another signal of China?s growing blue-water ambitions.
China has commissioned the Fujian, its third aircraft carrier, after a ceremony in Hainan attended by President Xi Jinping, state media reported. The milestone advances Beijing?s long-running military modernisation and its push to project maritime power.
The Fujian joins the Liaoning, commissioned in 2012, and the Shandong, commissioned in 2019. It is fitted with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system?technology otherwise fielded only by the US Navy?s newest carrier?which enables heavier takeoff loads and improved sortie rates.
State media shared footage of the handover and Xi touring the ship, while analysts noted the carrier?s earlier sea trials and transits through sensitive waters. The move underscores China?s rapid naval expansion amid regional frictions from the South China Sea to the Taiwan Strait.
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