China launches third aircraft carrier as Xi pushes military modernization against US influence
China formally brought its next-generation aircraft carrier, the Fujian, into active service Wednesday — a milestone in its drive to transform the People’s Liberation Army Navy into a force capable...
By Fox News · Fox News
China formally brought its next-generation aircraft carrier, the Fujian, into active service Wednesday — a milestone in its drive to transform the People’s Liberation Army Navy into a force capable of projecting power far beyond Asia’s shores. The Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier, compared with the U.S.’s 11, and the first that it designed and produced at home. It’s one of the most significant milestones in President Xi Jinping ’s push to modernize the People’s Liberation Army by 2035, part of a sweeping military overhaul aimed at countering U.S. influence in the Indo-Pacific. China’s state media said the Fujian will continue sea trials and flight tests before becoming fully combat-ready, but its commissioning signals Beijing’s growing confidence in operating larger, more complex warships. The 80,000-ton vessel is equipped with electromagnetic catapults that can launch heavier aircraft, including advanced J-35 stealth fighters, giving it longer range and greater strike capacity than China’s two previous carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong. Defense analysts say the Fujian marks a shift toward a true blue-water navy — one designed to operate far from Chinese shores — bolstering Beijing’s ability to project power across the Indo-Pacific and potentially into the western Pacific, where U.S. carriers have long dominated. Still, China remains years away from matching the U.S. Navy ’s global reach or experience in carrier operations. The Fujian is conventionally powered, limiting its endurance compared with America’s nuclear fleet. TRUMP’S AIRCRAFT CARRIER VISIT SENDS CHINA A MESSAGE: US SEA POWER STILL RULES THE WAVES The Fujian’s launch also reignited debate over the use of electromagnetic catapults — a technology Beijing has embraced and one that President Donald Trump has publicly criticized as unreliable. Speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington while visiting sailors in Japan, Trump announced his intention to sign an executive order dire…