BEIJING — China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier slipped into the sea for the first time on Wednesday, after days of publicity celebrating the impending launch as a milestone in President Xi Jinping’s drive to extend China’s military reach far beyond its shores.
Senior military and government officials watched as a Champagne bottle was smashed on the bow and as the 1,033-foot gray hull of the carrier eased into the water at Dalian, a northeastern port, Chinese military news media reported.
China launched its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in 2011, after buying and equipping its rusting Soviet-era hull from Ukraine in …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
