, Guo Yuandan and Li Yawei Published: Mar 14, 2025 04:47 PM
Photo:Chinese Defense Ministry
A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson on Friday called US reports claiming China is building a large nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "purely speculative," but cited China's national security needs and technology development for the country's aircraft carrier development. Chinese military affairs experts said China's aircraft carrier construction does not need to be compared with US carriers, but they remain open about the possibility of China developing new technologies for aircraft carriers.
In response to a media inquiry on reports regarding the US media claim that China may be building a large nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that would rival American vessels, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said on Friday that the media reports are purely speculative.
It is important to emphasize that China has always considered aircraft carrier development based on national security needs and the advancement of equipment and technology, said Zhang.
The Chinese spokesperson's remarks came after the US media outlet NBC News reported on March 2 that after examining new satellite imagery on China's Dalian shipbuilding facility provided by Maxar Technologies, a defense contractor used by the US government, five analysts claimed that China is developing a new aircraft carrier that will allow fighter jets to be launched from four parts of the flight deck.
In the report, Michael Duitsman, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, claimed that the general consensus "is that the new carrier will have four catapults," which would allow more planes to take off and match US carriers like the USS Gerald R. Ford. To accommodate four catapults, the ship will need to be larger than the Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier, matching American tonnage and powered by a nuclear reactor.
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Friday that what can be seen from satellite imagery cannot accurately reflect what is on the ground, so analyses based on satellite imagery has limits, and can only be speculative.
"The information provided by the spokespersonss is clear. China's aircraft carrier development does not need to be compared to US aircraft carriers," Zhang Junshe, another Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times, noting that reports by US media outlets are speculative and unfounded.
China currently operates three aircraft carriers: the Liaoning, the Shandong, and the Fujian. The Fujian is the nation's first fully domestically designed aircraft carrier built with catapults, with a full-load displacement of over 80,000 tons.
Zhang Junshe said that China has indeed mastered aircraft carrier construction technology and accumulated extensive experience and technical expertise. He said that from design and construction to testing, China has established a complete aircraft carrier development process and achieved breakthroughs in many areas. However, technologies required for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are different from those needed for conventional aircraft carriers or nuclear-powered submarines, and they demand a long-term and complicated process.
Only through continuous development of carrier technology can China transform potential into reality, such as building larger carriers, should national security demands arise, Zhang Junshe said.
But both experts remain open about the possibility of China building a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the future.
Song noted that China has gone from having no aircraft carrier to having three, from refitting a Soviet-era carrier to independently building carriers, from having ski-jump carriers to having a catapult-launch carrier, adding that China's aircraft carrier technologies have been progressing.
Building a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has been a development trend for other major naval powers, so it is normal if China considers it, Song said. "Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers have obvious advantages, and carriers need long endurance for far seas deployment," he said.
China's shipbuilding industry now possesses robust production capabilities and technical proficiency to support the construction of large surface vessels like carriers. Meanwhile, the experience and technological reserves accumulated during past carrier projects provide a solid foundation for developing larger carriers, according to Zhang Junshe.
"Nuclear-powered carriers outperform conventional ones in terms of endurance and self-sustainability, and nuclear propulsion allows for greater aircraft and weaponry capacity, significantly enhancing combat effectiveness," Zhang Junshe said. "Such carriers can operate overseas for extended periods, better safeguarding China's overseas interests and energy supply routes."
