China’s Third Aircraft Carrier, the Fujian, Enters Service

Key Facts

The commissioning ceremony was attended by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who boarded the vessel and reviewed its capabilities.

The Fujian, China’s third aircraft carrier and first to be wholly domestically designed and built, has officially entered service on 5 November 2025 at a ceremony at Sanya in Hainan province.

What makes it advanced

With this capability, China becomes only the second country after the U.S. to operate carriers with electromagnetic launch systems.

It marks a major leap from ski-jump or ramp launch systems used by its earlier carriers and gives China better reach in maritime power projection.