China's first indigenously built aircraft carrier began inaugural sea trials on Sunday, in a display of the Asian giant's growing technological prowess and as it seeks to expand the reach of its navy further into the Pacific.
The massive 50,000-metric-ton carrier, known only as the "Type 001A," left a shipyard in Dalian, in northeast China's Liaoning province, on Sunday morning at around 6:45 a.m. local time amid thick fog and with assistance from several tugboats, before navigating out to sea under its own power, state-run media said.
China's Defense Ministry said in a statement on its website that the trial aims to demonstrate the "reliability and capability" of the ship's propulsion system, adding that its construction has been "proceeding as planned."