China’s aircraft carrier No 4 on track with ‘no technical bottleneck’, admiral reveals in first official confirmation

Whether Type 004 will feature nuclear propulsion will ‘soon be announced’, PLA Navy admiral and political overseer reveals
China has the capability to deliver ‘all-round response’ to the US carrier fleet in the western Pacific, Yuan Huazhi says on NPC sidelines

China’s military

Hayley Wongin Beijing

Published: 7:48pm, 6 Mar 2024

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China is building its fourth aircraft carrier, a naval admiral and political supervisor has confirmed, adding that the going has been smooth on the technical front.

The fresh update on China’s opaque warship development programme came during annual legislative meetings in Beijing where People’s Liberation Army (PLA) representatives make rare public appearances.

Asked whether China’s newest carrier would be nuclear-powered, PLA Navy political commissar Yuan Huazhi said this “will soon be announced”, according to a video interview posted by Hong Kong Commercial Daily on social media platform Weibo.

The admiral added that he had not heard of any “technical bottleneck” regarding the aircraft carrier, suggesting its progress was on track.

Yuan’s comments, coming on the sidelines as this year’s National People’s Congress (NPC) opened on Tuesday, represent the first official confirmation of Beijing’s efforts to build a fourth aircraft carrier, commonly known as the Type 004.

Illustrations of the warship, however, have long been circulating on the internet.

The artwork was purported to have come from the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai, where the carrier is believed to be under construction.

With the Fujian, its third and most advanced aircraft carrier to date, China achieved a breakthrough by equipping it with electromagnetic catapults and arresting devices that allow warplanes to be launched more frequently.

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China airs footage of Fujian aircraft carrier featuring advanced catapult launch system

It has been widely discussed whether China’s latest warship could take another step up to become nuclear-powered, allowing it to generate sufficient power for catapult-launch take-offs and offer a longer range with a higher speed.

The Fujian, which has yet to conduct sea trials, was launched in June 2022.

PLA sources told the Post the same year that China’s naval nuclear reactor technology at the time was not sufficient to support nuclear carriers.

Only the US and French navies currently have nuclear-powered carriers – the American Nimitz and Gerald R. Ford class ships, and the French flagship Charles de Gaulle.

China has been looking to expand its carrier fleet as it aims to develop a modern “blue-water” navy within the next decade.

Aircraft carriers are also believed to be crucial to operations along the Taiwan Strait, where so-called freedom of navigation operations by the US and its allies have triggered protests from Beijing.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise the self-governed island as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take it by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

China is also developing new generation stealth fighters to increase its overall warfare capabilities – in line with its goal to develop a “world class” military power by 2049.

PLA’s Shandong aircraft carrier sails off south Taiwan in ‘show of force’

Tensions have risen as the US deploys more carriers in the western Pacific, which analysts say is a response to military manoeuvres from China and North Korea.

Yuan said China has the capability to deliver an “all-round response” to the US carrier fleet in the western Pacific. Three US aircraft carriers are already operating in the region, with two more reportedly on the way.

Asked to compare the Chinese aircraft carrier development with that of the US, he said the Chinese advancements in the field were not aimed at competition with the US.

“We are building aircraft carriers to protect our national sovereignty and to protect our territorial integrity,” he said.

China’s latest military budget announced on Tuesday raised funding for the armed forces by 7.2 per cent, the same rate as last year amid aims to ramp up combat readiness as well as defence research and development.