China wants reunification with Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province, if necessary by force of arms. It also wants to modernize its navy by building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang reaffirmed Beijing’s firm will to “resolutely promote the cause of China’s reunification”. This would be part of the government’s “overall strategy”, he specified in his annual report to the People’s Congress.
The statement itself is not new, as DW China reporter Yan Dang points out. According to Beijing, the potential threat lies in the fact that Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province, has received security guarantees from the United States and has therefore transferred five aircraft carriers to the Pacific.
Politicians in China have repeatedly talked about “peace and security in Chinese waters”. The Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, has insisted on the strategy of unification. “Despite the US military presence, we will push ahead with our measures for a united China,” he said.
In order to truly control the territory it claims, Beijing is significantly expanding its navy and therefore has two aircraft carriers in service in the Pacific, as well as two more under construction.
Beijing’s aircraft carriers
The first aircraft carrier, named “Liaoning” (hull number 16), was acquired by China in 1998 from Ukraine, through a Macau intermediary for 20 million dollars, around 18.370 million euros. The businessman initially said he wanted to build a floating hotel and casino. In 2012, the “Liaoning” was handed over to the Navy after being converted into an aircraft carrier.
The second, named “Shandong” (hull number 17), is a copy of the “Liaoning”, with minor modifications, which has been sailing mainly in the South China Sea since 2019. Meanwhile, the “Fujian” (hull number 18) is still in a shipyard in Shanghai and, like its two predecessors, has conventional missiles. The new aircraft should enter service in 2025.
What worries the United States is the following question: Does China intend to build and deploy two more nuclear-powered aircraft carriers?
Modern navy
Before the start of the People’s Congress, the Hong Kong and Taiwanese media unanimously reported that two more nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, with hull numbers 20 and 21, would be built.
Wang Feng, editor of the China Times newspaper in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, said in an interview with DW that “China wants to clearly show its strong ambitions [with the mission] of defending its waters” with “a modern navy”. To this end, the Chinese government has been gradually and considerably increasing its military spending.
In 2024, China’s spending on arms will increase by 7.2% compared to the previous year to the equivalent of 215.5 billion euros. According to the Stockholm Peace Institute (SIPRI), China ranks second in the world in defense spending, just behind the US.
Nevertheless, Hanna Gers of the German Institute for Foreign Relations hopes that an armed conflict between China and the West can be prevented. “In principle, neither China nor the US are interested in a military conflict,” she says, adding that the most likely scenario is economic blockades. “But I also know that all possible scenarios have to be taken into consideration,” admitted Hanna Gers.
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***