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China's Sea Dragon: How new Fujian aircraft carrier could challenge the mighty US navy for ocean supremacy as Beijing's gold-buying spree sparks fears of war
China today launched the first sea trials for the nation's most advanced aircraft carrier that President Xi Jinping hopes will form the basis of his plan to transform his People's Liberation Army (PLA) into a world-class fighting force.
The start of maritime tests by the Chinese navy this morning came nearly two years after the mammoth vessel, named the Fujian, was first unveiled in June 2022.
Entirely designed and built domestically, the Fujian is considerably larger and more advanced than China's two existing aircraft carriers - the Shandong, commissioned in late 2019 and based on the Liaoning, a Soviet-era carrier which China bought second-hand from Ukraine.
Displacing some 80,000 tonnes of water and measuring a whopping 1036 feet (316 metres) in length, the gargantuan craft features a full-length flight deck with an advanced catapult-launch system for jets - and, in a not-so-subtle gesture, takes its name from the Chinese province opposite democratically governed Taiwan.
Able to carry up to 40 fighter jets - plus anti-submarine helicopters, drones and other transport - it is cast as a rival to the USS Gerald Ford, the world's most advanced aircraft carrier and the pride of America's Navy.
The Fujian's launch to sea comes as experts sounded the alarm over Beijing's efforts to buy up gold at record rates - and dump hundreds of billions of dollars in US bonds - amid fears China is preparing to safeguard its economy against Western sanctions ahead of a possible invasion of the island.
The Fujian prepares to set out for maiden sea trials from Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard in eastern China's Shanghai, Wednesday, May 1, 2024
The sea trials will primarily test the reliability and stability of the aircraft carrier's propulsion and electrical systems
Displacing some 80,000 tonnes of water and measuring a whopping 1036 feet (316 metres) in length, the gargantuan craft features a full-length flight deck with an advanced catapult-launch system for jets
The Fujian will form the basis of President Xi Jinping's plan to transform his People's Liberation Army (PLA) into a world-class fighting force
Ahead of its first sea test today the Fujian had been stationed at Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard undergoing stationary tests and adjustments.
State TV reported the aircraft carrier had set out to sea just after 8am (0000 GMT) this morning on its first seafaring voyage.
China Daily quoted the PLA Navy (PLAN) as saying the carrier was 'among the most important military hardware' the country is developing, adding that the Fujian's test run at sea was intended to assess the 'reliability and stability of the carrier's propulsion and electric power systems.'
China's shipbuilders discounted nuclear power as a means of propulsion, meaning the Fujian will be slower and have a smaller range than the US' Ford-class aircraft carrier.
But this decision also means the Fujian was cheaper, easier and faster to build, and is still equipped with three advanced electromagnetic catapults that can launch fully fuelled and armed aircraft - technology that is currently only in use on a handful of US vessels and France's lone carrier.
The Fujian has a much greater capacity than Paris' Charles De Gaulle and will be complemented by a horde of China's J-15B fighter jets along with its fearsome fifth-generation aircraft - the Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang FC-31 stealth platforms.
It was described by Alexander Neill, an expert on the Chinese military at the Pacific Forum, as Beijing's first proper carrier that builds upon the previous two platforms which constituted an 'experiment' in carrier operations.
'The Liaoning helped the Chinese navy get into aircraft carrier operating mode for the first time... The Shandong was an experiment in gearing up the shipbuilding industry to supply the PLA Navy with these kinds of ships.
'Now, once they have the Fujian in service, they will be experimenting with carrier operations at scale and at pace,' he told the FT.
The sea trials are a final step before the aircraft carrier is put into service by China's navy, a process that is expected to take up to a year. The Shandong conducted nine sea tests before it was commissioned.
But once all three are operating in a military capacity, China will boast the second-largest aircraft-carrying fleet in the world behind the US - and the fourth vessel, rumoured to be a nuclear-powered variant - is already under development.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, prepares to set out for maiden sea trials from Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard in eastern China's Shanghai, Wednesday, May 1, 2024
The sea trials are a final step before the aircraft carrier is put into service by China's navy, a process that is expected to take up to a year
J-20 stealth fighter jets perform in the sky during the 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition on November 9, 2022
The 'Mighty Dragon' Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter aircraft
The launch of the Fujian comes as China continues to stretch its year-and-a-half-long buying spree of gold, stocking up on the precious metal considered a stable, safe investment.
A World Gold Council report said China now holds a stunning 2,262 tonnes of gold worth roughly $170.4 billion (£135 billion) - and Beijing in the meantime has offloaded more than $400 billion worth of US Treasury bonds since 2021.
There is also speculation that China holds significantly more gold reserves than the officially announced total.
The concerted effort to invest in the historically stable asset while dropping huge amounts of US debt has led analysts to suggest China is seeking to reduce its dependency on the American dollar, which in turn would mitigate the impact of any Western-imposed economic sanctions.
Jonathan Eyal, associate director at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think-tank, said of China's gold strategy: 'The relentless purchases and the sheer quantity are clear signs that this is a political project which is prioritised by the leadership in Beijing because of what they see is a looming confrontation with the United States.
'Of course it's connected also to plans for a military invasion of Taiwan,' he told The Telegraph.
He went on to speculate that China's move to diversify its investments and dump US debt was sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting torrent of Western sanctions levied against Moscow.
More than $300 billion worth of Russian assets were frozen in Europe and the US - a huge financial blow as the Kremlin seeks to finance its ongoing war.
John Reade, chief market strategist at the World Gold Council, said the sanctions against Russia's central bank sparked a flurry of gold-buying amid non-Western aligned countries and 'caused many non-aligned central banks to reconsider where they should hold their international reserves'.
China is buying up gold at record rates in a move experts claim could mean it is preparing to safeguard its economy against Western sanctions ahead of a possible invasion of Taiwan
A World Gold Council report said China now holds a stunning 2,262 tonnes of gold worth roughly $170.4 billion
China conducts long-range live-fire drills in waters off Taiwan's coastline
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 26, 2024
China's relationship with the West, particularly its grand rival the United States, is rocky to say the least, and China's threatening posture towards Taiwan is just one of many pinch points.
There have long been tensions between Beijing and Taipei but these have escalated considerably in recent years, with President Xi openly stating his desire to 'reunify' the island with the mainland, by force if necessary.
Chinese military aircraft routinely embark on threatening sorties toward the island, and on Saturday sent almost two dozen aircraft over the Taiwan Strait with some crossing the sensitive median line separating the two territories.
Taiwan's defence ministry said that from 9:30am (0130 GMT) on Saturday it had detected 22 Chinese military aircraft, including Su-30 fighters, of which 12 had crossed the median line to Taiwan's north and centre.
The line once served as an unofficial border between the two sides over which neither sides' military crossed, but China says it does not recognise the line's existence.
Besides China's consistently threatening posture toward Taiwan, the test also comes at a time of escalating tensions in the South China Sea between Beijing's vessels and other territories allied to the US.
The Philippines this week accused Chinese coast guard ships of damaging its fishing vessels with high-powered water cannons on the Scarborough Shoal.
The chain of reefs sits inside Manila's 200-nautical-mile (370km) exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Beijing claims it as sovereign territory along with 90% of the South China Sea.
An international tribunal invalidated China's claim in 2016, but Beijing does not recognise the ruling.