A week after the Busan Summit in South Korea on 30 October between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, which paused the tariffs war between China and the United States for one year, China commissioned its third aircraft carrier the Fujian on 7 November.
This is the first carrier in the Chinese Navy to be designed and built entirely by China.
It was commissioned on the Hainan Island in the presence of the Chinese president, and it marks an important step in building a world-class military that would be in a credible position to challenge American naval dominance in the Asia-Pacific region by mid-century and in the context of a long-term plan of creating a fully modernised Chinese military force by 2035.
Military experts believe China aspires to dominate the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the Yellow Sea around what is known as the First Island Chain running south through Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Those who have been monitoring the expansion of the Chinese military also believe that China plans to contest control of the Second Island Chain, where the United States has maintained military bases in Guam and elsewhere in the southern Pacific.
The major concern is that the growing naval capabilities of China could ultimately lead to a confrontation between China and the United States. At present neither power is interested in such a confrontation, but uncertainty about their long-term plans in the rivalry to dominate the waters of the Pacific is the name of the game.
The Fujian employs an electromagnetic launch system available on the latest US Navy Ford-class carriers. It can launch heavier aircraft with full fuel loads, including the KJ-609, an early warning and control plane. The ability to carry reconnaissance aircraft means the Fujian would not operate blind beyond land-based support systems.
Moreover, the Chinese Navy said that the new carrier has successfully launched the latest J- 35 stealth fighter and the J-15 heavy fighter. It has a displacement of over 80,000 tons and can reach a total output of 280,000 horsepower, surpassing the 200,000 of China’s first two carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong. According to press reports, China is building another carrier, with its shipyards capable of constructing vessels simultaneously at a pace that surpasses that of US naval yards.
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, China organised a large military parade on 3 September that signalled a broader strategic intention of deterring major powers and also, according to some China watchers, of pressuring regional actors while expanding its global influence. The parade showed an innovative and varied range of weapons, especially drones and missiles. BBC correspondent Laura Bicker said it was a spectacle of precision, power, and patriotism in an article published on 3 September.
Addressing the leaders invited to watch the parade, among them Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Yong Un, the Chinese president said that “humanity is again faced with a chance of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games.”
It was a wise call, but the growing naval and military rivalry between China and the United States in the Asia-Pacific is here to stay.
Last week, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with the leaders of major arms manufacturers and called on them to accelerate the production of all weapons systems. A silent arms race has become inevitable between China and the United States, with the Chinese Fujian aircraft carrier being an unmistakable symbol of such destabilisation.
The writer is former assistant foreign minister.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 November, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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