China’s latest and most capable aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has officially entered active service, marking a significant stride for Beijing as it seeks to close the technological gap with the United States on global naval supremacy.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the high-profile commissioning and flag-presenting ceremony earlier this week at a naval port in Sanya, Hainan Province.
The commissioning of the Fujian, China’s third aircraft carrier, represents a milestone in the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) transformation into a force capable of projecting power far beyond Asia’s shores.
China’s first carrier with Electromagnetic catapults
The Fujian, bearing the hull number 18, is China’s first domestically designed and built carrier. It is also the country’s first to forgo the ski jump-style ramp used on its smaller predecessors, the Liaoning and the Shandong. The vessel’s primary breakthrough is its integration of an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), a demanding technology that allows planes to take off with heavier weapon and fuel loads, extending their range and strike capacity.
State media reported that the decision to adopt the EMALS technology for the Fujian was personally made by Xi. The only other aircraft carrier in the world that possesses the EMALS system is the US Navy’s newest carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, which was certified for flight deck operations using the system in the spring of 2022.
BREAKING: China’s Fujian (Type 003) aircraft carrier is officially commissioned today with President Xi Jinping attending the ceremony. pic.twitter.com/yoP7ron0pZ
— Li Zexin 李泽欣 (@XH_Lee23) November 7, 2025
More than 2,000 navy and construction personnel attended the commissioning ceremony. Xi later toured the vessel, inspecting the mess hall, the control area of the catapult system, and the control tower on the island section.
New-generation carrier-based aircraft, including the J-35 and J-15T fighter jets and the KongJing-600 early warning aircraft, were parked prominently on the flight deck. During the inspection, Xi spoke to sailors who lined up along the flight deck and dock, saluting and shouting in unison: “Follow the party’s command, fight to win, and uphold fine conduct!”
Key Highlights
The Fujian, which displaces 80,000 tons, was launched in 2022 and began sea trials in 2024. State media said the vessel will continue sea trials and flight tests before becoming fully combat-ready. Here are five key facts and highlights on PLAN’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian:
- First Domestically Designed Carrier: The Fujian is the first aircraft carrier to be entirely designed and built by China, marking a significant milestone in Beijing’s indigenous military development.
- EMALS Technology: It is equipped with an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), which allows for the launch of heavier aircraft with greater speed and efficiency compared to the ski-jump ramps on the Liaoning and Shandong.
- Global Technological Parity: The Fujian is only the second aircraft carrier in the world to feature an EMALS system, with the US Navy’s USS Gerald R Ford being the only other vessel currently employing the technology.
- Displacement and Size: The vessel displaces 80,000 tons, making it China’s largest carrier to date and bringing its size closer to the US Navy’s Nimitz-class and Ford-class supercarriers.
- Propulsion Limitation: Unlike the US Navy’s nuclear-powered carrier fleet, the Fujian is conventionally powered, which imposes limits on its operational endurance and range at sea.
Chinese Navy’s Blue-Water ambition and conventional limits
The Fujian’s entry into service underscores PLAN’s expansion, which has already established it as the world’s largest navy by ship count.
Under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the PLAN is launching high-tech warships at a frenetic pace, with the 80,000-ton Fujian representing its most ambitious effort to date and the closest vessel to the size and capability of the US Navy’s 97,000-ton Nimitz-class supercarriers. This new carrier, equipped with the electromagnetic catapult system, signals Beijing’s determination to project power far beyond its coast and challenge the US naval dominance that has long been asserted across the Indo-Pacific.
Despite this technological leap, the Fujian remains constrained by its conventional propulsion. The vessel’s estimated operational range of 8,000 to 10,000 nautical miles requires frequent refueling, sharply contrasting with the virtually unlimited endurance of the US fleet, which operates 11 nuclear-powered carriers.
Moreover, the Fujian currently lags in core operational metrics; with three catapults and two aircraft elevators compared to the USS Gerald R. Ford’s four and three, former US carrier officers estimate the Chinese carrier’s air operations may run at only about 60% the rate of a fifty-year-old US carrier. Beijing is already laying the groundwork to overcome these limitations, with reports suggesting that the next carrier, the Type 004, is expected to employ EMALS and potentially be nuclear-powered.
Strategic Projection and Regional Security
Defense analysts view the Fujian as a clear marker of China’s shift toward a true blue-water navy, bolstering its ability to project power across the Indo-Pacific and into the Western Pacific, where US carriers have long held dominance.
The carrier’s deployment comes as tensions continue with Taiwan and in the contested South China Sea. Jiang Hsin-biao, a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taipei, assessed the enduring value of the capital ships even amid evolving threats: “While unmanned systems are a trend, I don’t believe they will pose a major, lethal threat to aircraft carriers within the next decade,” he said. “Even the U.S. is building new carriers, demonstrating their lasting value. The threats are relative and exist for both sides, whether it’s China or the U.S.”
Regarding the carrier’s regional role, Jiang noted: “These aircraft carriers are, of course, not aimed solely against Taiwan,” adding: “But if they’re deployed in the Western Pacific, they could encircle Taiwan.”
Despite the ambitious commissioning, experts caution that it will take the PLAN time to master complex carrier operations far from its shores. Aita Moriki, a research fellow at Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies, noted that “Many technological and personnel challenges remain.”