China’s newest aircraft carrier shows Xi Jinping catching up with U.S.

China on Friday launched its third and most modern aircraft carrier, a watershed moment for President Xi Jinping’s efforts to modernize the armed forces and narrow his country’s military gap with the U.S.

The new carrier, christened the Fujian, was launched from Jiangnan Shipyard near Shanghai at ceremony attended by military and civilian leaders, state broadcaster China Central Television said. The ship has an electromagnet catapult launch system — a feature previously deployed by only the U.S. — rather than the "ski jump” deck of China’s two earlier carriers, CCTV said.

While the Fujian will more closely resemble the newest U.S. carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, it will likely fall short of Nimitz- or Ford-class nuclear-powered supercarriers in capabilities and range. The Chinese warship is expected to have a diesel engine and likely to be comparable in size to the U.S. Kitty Hawk-class carriers, which the U.S. operated from the 1960s to 2000s.