Public opinion on China's Fujian aircraft carrier commissioning is sharply divided, showcasing a blend of national pride and skepticism. While some view the advancement as a critical step in bolstering military capabilities and a necessary form of self-defense, others express concerns over military escalation, particularly related to tensions with the U.S. and Taiwan. A significant portion critiques the carrier’s status as non-nuclear and questions China's overall military intentions, reflecting a broader anxiety about global military dynamics and the risk of conflict.

China

United States

Taiwan

Looks just like an american carrier with aeroplanes and everything! What a coincidence!

A57RUM

Insane incoherent rambling incoming

I hate how the chinese navy names their ships with [Name]舰, it’s especially terrible in this case with Fujian because it becomes “Fujian jian”, which sounds like a shitty Labubu knockoff. Should’ve kept the old [Name]号 nomenclature, since it’s a part of naval history and sounds much classier.

ZhangRenWing

Was anyone else disappointed the music wasn't Danger Zone?

stewieatb

Why is chinese propaganda completely taking over reddit in the last few days?

sleep-woof

LibertarianOpossum

So much hard work to steal all of that technology.

Poker-Junk

Wouldn’t be surprised if they print out 10 more in the next few years

BIGplouf

When China decides to go to war, they'll repurpose their consumer item factories for production of military equipment and components. No country is even close to China in terms of production capacity and know how. They'll have won the war against the Western world before it even started. They'll just all of a sudden build so many ships, carriers, drones, tanks, jets, bombers, missiles, rockets, guns you'll go dizzy.

EDIT: I can smell the fear in this thread.

Any_Collection_8718

It's so sad the elites in US navy don't see the same way as the comments section do. I really hope they hold the same mentality as these brain rot low life

AcceptableResource0

This isn't the "Made in China" from the 80s and 90s. China's manufacturing abilities have improved significantly. 
Downplaying their capabilities is not wise.

ThePhillyKind

I've been wating for this for over a year already, woohoo

Key-Needleworker-702

I've heard that imitation is the highest form of respect.It's funny what Chinese designs seem to be imitating

ReconArek

Everyone of those aircraft looked like a clone of an American aircraft.

ChinaButt69

LoOk, ThEy JuSt CoPiEd AmErIcAn ShIp/AiRcRaFt DeSiGn! 

What the fuck else are they going to do? Re-invent the wheel? This isn't some art project where you get points for creativity, hell even artists mimic each other to explore their art form and push their technique. Planes look like planes, boats look like boats, what are they supposed to build? A combat butterfly inspired aircraft? FFS these comments are braindead and childish.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. We should be glad the rest of the world is coming out of poverty and reaching our level of prosperity. Obviously I'm not excited other countries are catching up militarily, but what else are we going to do? Bomb them back to the stone age every few decades?

baked_doge

The comments in here are fucking delusional haha. The US is on an ever steepening downward slide from the world’s global power into the abyss and Trump has opened all the water tight bulkheads is drilling huge holes beneath the US economy’s waterline.

Groundhawgday

I sound like a simp but damn the female petty officer 2nd class at 0:03 is kinda hot ngl

(yeah I should private my account now)

Level_Improvement532

noonsumwhere

These carriers multiply like rabbits 😲

Electronic-Tree-9715

GennyGeo

Has China built a carbon copy of an E-2??

AdOdd4618

Can have a closer look in 10 years, when they are patrolling the mediterranean

chrissn007

Temu makes aircrafts carriers now? That's wild.

Additional-Teach-486

ForeignYard1452

FoCoLoco970

They may not have the quality many 'expect' from the West - but they will make up for it with numbers. And I suspect cheaper construction.

I am curious about their berthing arrangements though. Wonder if the enlisted and NCOs get decent bunks comparable to USN and RN sailors.

dopeydazza

Swingline_Font

LoonyTbom78

Looks like chinesium. Rusted through in a month lol

SignificanceIll8640

It's very pretty, for a conventional bunker fueled boiler powered torpedo magnet with some nice shiny gear. I guarantee that there is a US submarine around when ever it leaves port. Otherwise, quite impressive, a nice show piece that will be in the news every night.

The Chinese have a long way to go on combined carrier/fleet operations. They'll get there, they aren't stupid. Possibly, they might even overcome the standard communist operational philosophy: 

Air Boss: "All aircraft, go over there and bomb the shit out of the Yankee pirates!"

1st Squadron Leader: "Boss, there are no Yankee pirates over there"

Air Boss: "You're under arrest! Number 2 leader, carry out my orders!"

2nd Sq Leader: "You got it boss, bombing the shit out of the Yankee pirate reef now. No survivors reported."

Air Boss: "Great victory! You get medal and I get medal!"

American forces have been trained on initiative and flexibility for about 75 years or so. Communists, not so much. Reference Russia right now.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (they need to fix that first and just call it the Chinese Navy) is currently a significant regional force. They may, in time, become a truly dangerous force. Having a lot of ships is like Putin having a lot of soldiers. They need to be trained and equipped and supported to become more than torpedo magnets.

Chinese hardware is pretty good. Chinese operators are pretty good. Chinese operational theory is . . . not so much. Maybe in time, but not very fearsome yet.

Altitudeviation

realdjjmc

We are going to be happy China has carriers when the alien invasion arrives.

jessestaton

big_ron_pen15

Kram_Seli

They sure look pretty.  But can they fight?

Hot-Science8569

battlecryarms

They finally ended up fixing the catapults?

CBT7commander

Diesel powered. Limited to the degree it’s oilers can sustain it.

Don’t target the aircraft carrier, just target the oilers. 

The aircraft carrier will have to stay close to the Chinese shoreline to mitigate the distance the oilers have to travel, thus limiting their exposure.

The aircraft carrier doesn’t travel far, thus not projecting AirPower.

Kind of a useless ship

Material-Sell-3666

assfghjlk

What's "Fujian Class"? Terrible build quality?

fushiginagaijin

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Type 003 seems to be complete. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_aircraft_carrier_Fujian

The next one they are building is assumed to be larger and nuclear powered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_004_aircraft_carrier

I guess they got all the expertise they needed from the bought Kuznetsov-class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_aircraft_carrier_Liaoning

Thurak0

It's smart building and they have the industrial capacity to so. They first learned from the Russians. Then built their own version based on the previous class, gradually introducing new technologies, culminating into the type 004. 

The only question is how effective the PLA navy can gain the operational experience in running an air carrier fleet. The US has basically decades of running a fleet in combat situations all the way back to WW2. That is alot of institutional experience. I do wonder what they project their sortie rate to be in combat situations.

Thegreatbrainrobbery

It does seem to be *shaped* like an aircraft carrier.

FlavorBlaster42

livejib

Give the Chinese credit where it’s due. Their iterative approach to ship development seems to be working. Unlike some countries that just go no hold bar and watch costs spiral out of control (cough - Ford class, Zumwalt class, Seawolf class, etc. ).

RCoaster42

Meanwhile Trump whines because he wants the Ford-class to go back to using ste catapults. Even if we presume Trump is right and EMLASS is bad, redesigning, let alone retrofitting the Ford and Kennedy to use steam catapults would take an enormous effort, as well as a lot of redesign work for the upcoming Ford class ships which are already ridiculously delayed. 

I suppose one question to ask, why is it so difficult for the USN to design and build ships? The constellation class has been an absolute clusterfuck as well, along with the Zummwalt destroyers and Independence and Freedom LCSs. 

It all seems quite embarrassing how inept the USN has become in this department. I suppose it would be one thing, if at the end of these long design and review processes, the launched ships were exceptional, but they are riddled with issues and in some cases, like the LCS, are being rushed into retirement because they are utter crap.

Scaryclouds

Majestic-Collar-2675

It’s going to be drone carriers soon, whoever figures that out first is going to have a massive advantage. Imagine a fast ship that can deploy 10,000 drones in under 5 minutes…

Responsible-Laugh590

Ladies and gentlemen and others, welcome to the first annual top of the line carrier races!

 Chinas ramp launch carriers may join the Ramp league, where jets take off with half armaments and half fuel.

Todays race is top tier league flat top carriers only.

And they're off!!!

Rounding turn one it looks like the US has already lapped China 13 times! WOW!

Coming into turn two, looks like China has decided to get a lap in!

Wait, I'm hearing from my reporters down at the naval base. Beijing we have a problem. The Black flag is out, and they must return to port!

Turns out only carriers with a full complement of carrier pilots are allowed in the top tier carrier race!!! Lets watch the Chinese port crew and see what they do now. \~Commercial Break\~

Tr3sp4ss3r

Finishing one carrier and a 2nd fleet carrier under construction does not IMHO constitute a naval race with America, which has 11 fleet carriers in service, 3 under construction and 6 more planned with two of them already named and well into the preconstruction phase.  And it also has another 9 amphibious assault ships which have a carrier component ranging from 12 to 25 Harriers and F-35s.

Aircraft carrier operations are dangerous and becoming proficient is a decades long exercise.  It is one thing to conduct a few eye candy sorties for the press in calm home waters and another to do it all weather as America is used to undertaking.

China is certainly looking to improve its navy, which is still dominated by medium and light class vessels: frigates, corvettes, missile boats and other light classes.  

Really, in the Pan Pacific it is the combined might of America, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore for modern vessels that is the "competition" to China.   And they are all building out their fleets.

lifeisahighway2023

I give it about three years before it gets captured on photography to be spewing a huge plume of smoke from some internal fire, based on China's history of cost cutting measures for equipment and consumer goods.

RippingOne

Not being nuclear powered is a massive handicap. It won’t be able to support air operations and its self without refueling every week. Preventing it from refueling can force it to stop flying or risk going dead in the water.

Conan-Da-Barbarian

Is it advanced, though? Have they launched and recovered multiple weapons-ladened jets? Can they protect it? Is it reliable? Do they have competent air battle managers?

Chris_Bryant

halfcookies

[deleted]

Not nuclear so would require regular fueling for long distance blue water operations.

windfinder_

*INDOPACOM stares at SOUTHCOM getting toys to play with*

Blueberryburntpie

Advanced . . . for them.

The best description I've ever heard about the US Military and its technology is this--when we fight a war it's like we're going back in time.

605pmSaturday

All it takes is one cruise missile with a nuclear warhead to sink it.

Mammoth-Pin6304

I've been wondering why China is getting carriers anyways. I never read anything about them doing power projection ala NATO/USA, and preferred to use soft power and money for that.

Then it hit me, it's an airfield that isn't stationary, and I imagine they know their airfields are going to get ROCKED if a real fight breaks out. I can't imagine they're doing this for mostly optics.

Poro_the_CV

Gonna paraphrase a commenter from another post “I’ll be cold in the ground before I pay for a CNN subscription.”

starsrprojectors

9 out of 10 dentists prefer Blend-a-med over other toothpaste brands, says Blend-a-med ad.

Andrey_Gusev

Doesn't that admiral know the EM catapult layout problem exists on the Ford too?

Late_Video_5744

I'd argue it's because China doesn't *yet* have the same ambition as the USA to police the whole world. It focuses more on protecting its nearshore interests rather than projecting military powers half way around the world.

Freed4ever

different doctrines, different operational environment, different integration with the rest of the armed forces. Apples to oranges comparison.

that said I don't mind the US underestimate and ridicule the Chinese forces, there's a charm to it: it's like an older cousin whining about the over-performing younger nephew at the banquet table.

Friendly-Sky-5963

&gt; “Building a shiny new carrier is nice, but I would postulate that the Chinese ‘don’t know what they don’t know’ about carrier ops,” he said.

&gt; That can only be learned by practice in all kinds of conditions, according to Stewart.

&gt; “Flying off a carrier in daylight and good weather is not too difficult. The hard part, and what makes flyers pucker their cheeks, is flying and landing on a nasty, rainy, windy night when the deck is wallowing up to 18 feet, you are low on fuel, and you are scared.

Skandling

Yup, then why is the us confronting a country like that? 
But actions speak louder than words. Lol

Worldly-Addendum-319

the US admiral knows very little about anything from other countries 

Serious-Wealth-7491

Don't the former US officers know that China can churn out aircraft carriers at the rate of a carrier every 3 years, whereas the US takes more than a decade. The Chinese also produce carriers at a fraction of the price of the US carriers. 

China has also been able to sort out the issues with EMLS (electromagnetic launching system) whereas the US is still stuck with their steam powered ones 

In the future, if there is a war between the US and China, China will be able to afford to bring three carriers for every US carrier.

chota-kaka

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Firm-Investigator18

Sure buddy, you guys keep on denying your rivals capabilities ad infinitun, that strategy worked great for the USSR

Total_Eggplant_9762

Glittering-Fudge-154

Constant_Ad3545

To be fair, the type 003 is a stepping stone as china's first flattop to train pilots, operations, etc. 

Type 004 is where they'll be soon enough.

Afraid-Chef7341

And then, this...   
[China upset with WDMMA global air powers ranking that rated Indian Air Force above PLA Air Force?- The Week](https://www.theweek.in/news/defence/2025/10/21/china-upset-with-wdmma-global-air-powers-ranking-that-rated-indian-air-force-above-pla-air-force.html)

Icy-Stock-5838

Urbanthinker0808

I've noticed before that the raised blast deflector on the Fujian's central catapult  impedes aircraft being recovered, which would impact sortie rates and perhaps cause safety issues.

Does the Nimitz-class get around this thanks to the greater angle of its landing area?

NecroPulse23

No_Bumblebee6655

Copy the article headline and paste it in a search engine. 9/10 times you can find it on another forum. CNN sucks!

Individual_Yak_55

According to some YouTuber, Fujian was designed around a steam catapult. Then one scientist made a surprise advancement on EMALS, which beat the steam catapult in a competing demo, but is longer. It was too late to change the ship design, thus the compromise. However, it is not just the deflector. Taxing will cut across the launching zone anyway.

species5618w

"China's newest aircraft carrier may only be able to conduct air operations at about 60% the rate of a 50-year-old US Navy carrier, two former US carrier officers say, a substantial combat limitation for a vessel meant to revolutionize Beijing's fleet."

China is definitely behind in the carrier game, but it's much easier for them to catch up than for the US to stay 50+ years ahead. China will likely catch up/come close on the carrier tech within the next 30-50 years as they can afford to copy stuff, try stuff, go through all the documentaries on carriers and public info on them, practice nonstop take-offs + landings in all sorts of weather conditions, etc., and then just build new ones.

Their labor and costs are probably much lower than the US carriers also.

Duckysawus

Well the EMALS system on the Fujian can handle different loads dynamically, much faster than steam. It also has greater endurance, and does not need to recharge steam pressure after consecutive launches.  

The Fujian can launch different mission packages faster than the Nimitz, especially if different aircraft types are involved.

dice7878

China thank you for the tips I guess. IMO this kind of analysis with reasonings is much better than pure copium "China bad, tofu dreg, etc"

commanche_00

The US 🇺🇸 would dumpster China 🇨🇳  militarily


GG EZ no RE

&gt; *Hegseth said that the US “loses to China in every war game” run by the Pentagon.*

Okay, you’re the boss- What’s the plan?

listenstowhales

If only we had built 30 Seawolves instead of a bunch of targets

Phrygian_Guy_93

If only we weren’t extremely behind on building our submarines

Living_Employer1641

If we use the US definition of a hypersonic, nobody has built one.

If we use China/Russia's definition, we've had them since the 50's.

Sometimes leaders lie about what the enemy can do to justify spending priorities.  That's what I think is the most likely case here.  Drone swarms are a bigger threat than China's "hypersonics".

(True hypersonic weapons, as defined by the US, don't merely reach hyper sonic speed, but sustain that speed for the entirety of the flight profile beyond the initial boost phase.  The looser definition that Russia and China use essentially defines every medium to long distance balistic missile as hypersonic.)

LTRand

Idiot thinks there will be 10 functional carriers.

Mawgac

So we should probably ensure this doesn’t happen then, maybe through diplomacy?

Black-Shoe

His quote is from an interview on the Shawn Ryan show before he was SECDEF. It doesn’t make any less worse, but at least it was coming from a place of conjecture, not intelligence.

reallycodered

Good thing we have nuclear weapons so if 10 carriers got sunk it would be entirely irrelevant anyways since the world would be an irradiated heap.

sogpackus

Why would all the carriers be in one location at the start of a conflict?

Ah, we're finally, officially on the "be afraid of foreign militaries" part of the new hegemony?

Quenz

DJErikD

Sounds like he's getting his intel from Popular Mechanics rather than our Intelligence agencies now... which, is par for the course for anyone involved in this admin. 

I mean, sure, it's a risk.. I've seen it in pop media click bait articles for years now. Does he think he's bringing something new to the table? Whatever I read, years ago, also seemed to think this was only a realistic threat for a carrier in proximity to Chinese mainland. It's also a hypothetical threat, not something that's been tested. 

Perhaps it's an accurate assessment, and that would mean that the age of the carrier is over if engaged with a major adversary that's in the top ten militaries of the world... so our carriers sit out such a conflict as you don't fight every war the same way; this isn't WWII. If anything it sort of contradicts their "build more ships, because, more ships!!" mentality. Which to be clear, I'm not saying we don't need to improve our shipbuilding capability, just that I believe in quality over quantity.

drewbaccaAWD

People used to say China didn't have the capability because it has never been demonstrated yet, but now the head of the DOD says they do have it...

What has changed?

EasyE1979

China has officially commissioned its third aircraft carrier, enhancing its naval capabilities amid rising tensions with the US.

China's Fujian Aircraft Carrier Commissioning

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