China has commissioned its third aircraft carrier, its largest and most modern ship of its kind to date.
With the ceremony, attended by President Xi Jinping, China marked an important moment in the modernization of its navy compared to the United States, the Xinhua news agency reported today.
The aircraft carrier Fujian, significantly more modern and powerful than its two predecessors, is equipped with an electromagnetic catapult system, a technology that allows it to launch more types of aircraft, more heavily armed and with a greater range of activities than its two predecessors.
The only other aircraft carrier equipped with this system is the US Navy's Gerald R. Ford.
Fujian is powered by conventional power (not nuclear).
China has two other aircraft carriers in active service - the Liaoning, which was purchased from Ukraine in 2000, and the Shandong, the first aircraft carrier built in China and in service since 2019. But they are not as technically advanced as the Fujian.
Most analysts, however, believe that China, which is engaged in a naval rivalry with Washington in the South China Sea and around Taiwan, lags significantly behind the Americans in terms of aircraft launch capacity, reports Agence France-Presse.
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