China’s First Homegrown Aircraft Carrier Begins Sea Trials

China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier has begun sea trials, marking an important milestone for the country’s modernizing navy.

The vessel, temporarily named the 001A, is China’s second fixed-wing aircraft carrier after the Liaoning, a modified Soviet-era carrier purchased from Ukraine. The new carrier left its shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province, early Sunday, and is currently undergoing mechanical system tests, according to an announcement by China’s Defense Ministry.

The 001A was launched in April 2017, but still “needs time to acquire combat effectiveness,” according to an editorial published in government-run newspaper the Global Times.

The 001A’s commissioning, which is expected to happen around 2020, will put the size of China’s aircraft carrier fleet on par with countries like India and the United Kingdom, which both expect to have two commissioned aircraft carriers by around 2020. The U.S. currently has 11 operational aircraft carriers, all of which are powered by nuclear propulsion systems, with two more under construction.

China’s Liaoning and the 001A, in comparison, are propelled by conventional power, meaning they have to be refueled more frequently than nuclear-powered vessels. The 001A is around 10 meters (33 feet) longer and 5 meters wider than the Liaoning, and capable of reaching a speed of 31 knots compared to the Liaoning’s 29. Both vessels have a displacement of 50,000 metric tons.

Although China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has not revealed any official plans for a third aircraft carrier, the 001A is likely to be followed in the future by more vessels. Chinese President Xi Jinping called in April for the country to continue building a “first-class navy,” which he said was the key to the “rejuvenation” of the country. The Chinese navy has in recent years unveiled multiple upgrades to its fleet, including a new-generation, domestically built destroyer in 2017, and the world’s first operational anti-ship ballistic missile around 2010.

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp., a state-owned defense company, said in a February statement that it planned to speed up breakthroughs in nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, although it later altered the statement to remove references to nuclear propulsion technology.

China’s existing aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, unveiled in 2012, is already playing an important symbolic role in displays of naval might in the waters surrounding China.

The Liaoning made its first port call outside the Chinese mainland in July, when it sailed into Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of the city’s transition from British to Chinese rule. The vessel has since been involved in training exercises, including a live-fire military drill involving dozens of naval vessels and over 10,000 personnel in the Taiwan Strait last month.

Contact reporter Teng Jing Xuan (jingxuanteng@caixin.com)