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09-11-2025
BEIJING: China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has entered service days after a grand commissioning ceremony overseen by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, state media said.
The Fujian, the country’s third warship, is equipped with electromagnetic catapults which will allow planes to be launched at higher speeds.
Its launch marked a significant step forward for Beijing, which now has the world’s largest navy in terms of sheer number of ships.
China has been expanding its navy at breakneck speed under Xi, putting pressure on the United States and its allies to keep up.
The Fujian can launch three different types of aircraft with its electromagnetic catapult and flat flight deck, according to state media.
The domestically-built vessel can carry planes with heavier weapons and fuel loads so they can strike enemy targets from a greater distance, making it more powerful than China’s first two carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, both built by the Russians.
State media hailed the Fujian as a “major milestone” in the development of China’s navy.
The US is the only other country in the world to have an aircraft carrier with the same electromagnetic catapult system as Fujian.
The Fujian’s commissioning ceremony was held in southern Hainan province on Wednesday, during which Xi toured the ship’s deck to hear more details about its performance at sea. State media claimed Xi had personally made the decision to adopt electromagnetic catapult technology.
The reports also said 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!”
More than 2,000 people from the navy and the carrier’s construction units were present at Wednesday’s ceremony, standing on the dock in rows, Xinhua reported.
“The atmosphere was grand and enthusiastic,” it said.
“After the ceremony, Xi Jinping boarded the Fujian … and learned about the development of the aircraft carrier system combat capabilities and the construction and application of the electromagnetic catapult system,” it said.
The Fujian is equipped with an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), a more efficient technology than conventional steam-powered methods.
Xinhua said Xi “personally decided” that the Fujian would adopt an EMALS system.
The only other aircraft carrier currently equipped with this technology is the USS Gerald R. Ford.
Xi also went into the carrier’s control tower to learn about flight operations, Xinhua said, adding that he “solemnly signed the ship’s logbook”.
The Fujian had already been in the spotlight several times leading up to its formal commissioning. Chinese defence officials confirmed in September that the Fujian had sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait to carry out “scientific research trials and training missions” in the South China Sea.
The CCP does not rule out using force to seize Taiwan, a democratic, self-ruled island that China claims as part of its territory.
Analysts say the transit was likely intended to send a strong signal to potential adversaries.
Defence ministries in Japan and Taiwan said at the time that they had detected the Fujian’s movements, which brought it within approximately 200 kilometres (125 miles) of the disputed Senkaku Islands, known in Chinese as the Diaoyu Islands. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
