"The future development plans for China's aircraft carriers will be comprehensively considered based on national defense needs," Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China's Embassy in Washington, D.C., previously told Newsweek, adding that the East Asian power's military development and improvement were not directed at any third party.
In pursuit of the ambitious goal of building "world-class" armed forces by 2049, China is undergoing rapid military modernization. With over 370 vessels, including three aircraft carriers, Beijing has the world's largest navy by hull count. Still, its aircraft carrier fleet is far behind that of its top rival: the United States, which has the world's largest with 11 carriers.
