President Xi Jinping attended the commissioning ceremony of the Fujian, China’s first aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults, in Hainan.
Sanya, China — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday (6) attended the commissioning and flag-presenting ceremony of the aircraft carrier *Fujian* (Hull 18), the first in China to use electromagnetic catapults for aircraft launches. The event took place at a naval port in the city of Sanya, in southern Hainan Province.
During the ceremony, Xi — who also serves as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission — boarded the vessel to inspect its facilities and speak with Navy officers.
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Launched in June 2022 and named after Fujian Province, the carrier completed its first sea trials in May 2024, according to the state-run Xinhua agency.
The Fujian is China’s third aircraft carrier and the first to be fully designed and built domestically. Displacing over 80,000 tons, it is considered the world’s largest conventionally powered warship.
The vessel represents a significant technological leap for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Its electromagnetic catapults allow aircraft to take off with heavier payloads — including more fuel and weapons — extending their range and enhancing overall operational capability.
Currently, only one other aircraft carrier in the world employs a similar system — the U.S. Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).
China’s other two carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, still rely on conventional ski-jump ramps for takeoff, limiting aircraft weight and sortie frequency.
The commissioning of the Fujian marks a new chapter in China’s naval development and underscores Beijing’s goal of modernizing its armed forces by the middle of the next decade.
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Sources: CGTN, Xinhua, China Military Online, The South China Morning Post. Images: Weibo | China Military | Wikimedia. This content was created with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
