Exclusive | The inside story of the China's first aircraft carrier: two-part special on Liaoning starts Monday
In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, Xu revealed how he sealed the deal and navigated the rough political seas of the 1990s post-Cold War era.
Call it Mission Improbable. Hong Kong-based businessman Xu Zengping poured in his millions, borrowed much more, and shed sweat and tears to buy a half-built early 1990s Soviet aircraft carrier and transport it halfway around the world to bring it to China.
It was transformed eventually into the Chinese navy's shining pride, its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, commissioned in September 2012.
In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, Xu revealed how he sealed the deal, and navigated the rough political seas of the 1990s post-Cold War era to deliver the steel Leviathan into Chinese waters.
For the first time, too, Xu revealed that contrary to widespread speculation, the four engines of the carrier were intact and not hollowed out.
A refit in 2011 restored the engines to operating condition.
In the first of a two-part special, beginning in tomorrow's South China Morning Post we report on the intricacies of the purchase.
