President Donald Trump has accused China of stealing U.S. technology, and used that as the reason to impose tariffs of up to $150 billion on the Asian powerhouse, but that doesn’t mean the world’s second-largest economy isn’t developing its own. As a sign of its growing military might, China tested its first domestically built aircraft carrier, with the five-day sea trial ending Friday.
The ship, which still hasn’t been named, was launched in April 2017, and is the second carrier in the Chinese navy. During the tests that began May 13, the 50,000-ton vessel completed all its assigned tasks, according to reports. It is scheduled to be commissioned before 2020, once its air fleet arrives.
The existing aircraft carrier, Liaoning, was commissioned in 2012. It was bought from Ukraine and majorly overhauled in China, and now has a fleet of Chinese j-15 fighter jets. The design of the new carrier, like Liaoning, is based on the Soviet Kuznetsov class of aircraft carriers. They feature a ski-jump style takeoff deck and are powered by an oil-fueled steam turbine.
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