China’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, officially entered into service this week, the country’s military announced on Friday, bringing Beijing another step closer to its goal of rivaling American naval power in the region.

中国军方周五宣布，中国最新、最先进的航空母舰“福建舰”本周正式入列，使北京离在该地区与美国海军实力抗衡的目标又近了一步。

The Fujian, which features an electromagnetic catapult system for launching and landing aircraft, was commissioned for service on Wednesday, when China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, presided over the ceremony on Hainan, an island in the country’s south, the Liberation Army Daily and other state-run news outlets announced.

据《解放军报》等官方媒体报道，这艘配备了电磁弹射系统的航母于周三入列，中国最高领导人习近平当天在中国南方的海南岛主持了入列仪式。

Mr. Xi, dressed in army green in his role as chairman of China’s military, strode the deck of the carrier, inspecting aircraft and praising their pilots as heroes, video released by Chinese official media showed. Reports also said that Mr. Xi had “personally decided” that the Fujian should use the electromagnetic catapult equipment, a demanding technology that President Trump recently railed against.

中国官方媒体发布的视频显示，作为中国军委主席的习近平身着军绿色服装在航母甲板上视察舰载机，并称赞飞行员是英雄。报道还说，习近平“亲自决策”福建舰采用电磁弹射技术，这项尖端技术近期曾遭美国总统特朗普的公开质疑。

By deploying the Fujian, and with plans to construct more aircraft carriers, China is moving to assert dominance in the western Pacific, using the carriers and their accompanying forces to brandish power and intimidate adversaries, several experts said. The Fujian, the third of China’s carriers, is its most ambitious effort so far. The ship was unveiled in 2022 but took years to become proficient enough to go officially into service.

多名专家表示，随着福建舰入列以及后续航母建造计划的推进，中国正致力于在西太平洋地区确立主导地位，利用航母及随舰编队展示实力并震慑对手。福建舰是中国第三艘航母，也是迄今最具雄心的项目。该舰于2022年亮相，但花了数年时间才达到正式入列的标准。

China’s aircraft carriers still lag behind those of the United States, both in number and sophistication. China now has three, all running on diesel, while the United States has 11, which are all nuclear powered. But the Fujian is the first Chinese carrier to approach the U.S. carriers in size and capability.

中国的航母在数量和精良程度上仍落后美国。中国目前拥有三艘航母，均为常规动力；而美国11艘航母全部实现了核动力。不过，福建舰是第一艘在规模和作战能力上接近美国水平的中国航母。

Satellite images suggest that China is already building a fourth carrier. And plans are underway to keep expanding the fleet, possibly shifting to nuclear-powered carriers at some point, despite arguments that unmanned drones and precision missiles could make the ships obsolete.

卫星图像显示，中国已启动第四艘航母建设。尽管存在无人机与精确制导导弹可能使航母过时的论点，中国仍在持续推进航母舰队的扩张计划，未来可能转向核动力航母。

“While unmanned systems are a trend, I don’t believe they will pose a major, lethal threat to aircraft carriers within the next decade,” said Jiang Hsin-biao, a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taipei, which is supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense. “Even the U.S. is building new carriers, demonstrating their lasting value. The threats are relative and exist for both sides, whether it’s China or the U.S.,” he said.

台湾国防部下属国防安全研究院研究员江炘杓表示：“虽然无人系统是发展趋势，但我认为它们在未来十年不会对航母构成重大的致命威胁。连美国都在建新航母，这说明它们仍具有持久价值。无论是中国还是美国，这类威胁都是相对且共存的。”

For Mr. Xi, the publicity around the commissioning of the Fujian may be a political salve after recent embarrassing revelations of corruption in the high ranks of the People’s Liberation Army forces. China announced in October that nine senior officers had been dismissed and faced prosecution on charges of corruption and abuses of power. They included Gen. He Weidong, who was third in China’s military hierarchy, after Mr. Xi and another commander.

对习近平来说，福建舰入列的宣传效应可能在近期解放军高层腐败案接连曝光后起到一定的政治安抚作用。今年10月，中国宣布9名军队高层因贪腐与滥用职权遭解职起诉。其中包括军队三号人物何卫东上将，他在中国军队中的位置仅次于习近平和另一名指挥官。

The Fujian’s main breakthrough is its electromagnetic catapult system for launching aircraft and slowing them to a halt when they land. The system appears similar to one used aboard the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford, the first of the United States’ newest generation of aircraft carriers. But Mr. Trump late last month criticized the electromagnetic technology as unreliable and said he would order U.S. carriers to go back to steam-propelled launchers.

福建舰的主要突破在于采用了电磁弹射系统，实现舰载机弹射起飞与着舰减速。该技术与美国最新一代航母的首舰福特号采用的系统类似，但特朗普上月底抨击电磁技术不可靠，并表示他会下令美国航母回到蒸汽弹射。

“When we build aircraft carriers, it’s steam for the catapults, and it’s hydraulic for the elevators. We’ll never have a problem, OK?” Mr. Trump said on a visit to the U.S.S. George Washington, an aircraft carrier in Japan.

特朗普在视察美国部署在日本的航母“华盛顿”号时说：“我们造航母就用蒸汽弹射、液压升降。这样我们永远不会出问题，好吗？”

China’s two earlier carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, use simpler takeoff and landing technology on decks with ski-jump-like prows. The new system could allow the Fujian to carry larger aircraft with bigger loads of weapons and to send the planes out faster with less wear on their frames.

中国早先的两艘航母辽宁舰和山东舰采用相对简易的起降技术，甲板前端设有类似滑雪跳台的斜坡。新系统使福建舰能够搭载更大载弹量的飞机，并以更快的速度出动战机，同时减少机体损耗。

The Fujian’s deployment comes as tensions continue between China and Taiwan, an island democracy that has long rejected Beijing’s claims of sovereignty. Some analysts foresee China using the Fujian as part of carrier groups, along with battleships and submarines, that could intimidate Taiwan or countries that have territorial disputes with Beijing, especially in the South China Sea.

福建舰的部署正值中国与台湾地区紧张局势持续之际。这个岛屿民主政体长期拒绝承认北京的主权主张。部分分析人士预测，中国可能将福建舰编入航母战斗群，配合战舰和潜艇，对台湾或与北京存在领土争端的国家（尤其在南海地区）形成威慑。

It is unlikely that carriers would figure prominently into any initial military action by China against Taiwan, because the island is so close to the Chinese coast and its many air bases. But some experts believe China could eventually use aircraft carriers in a blockade of the island.

由于台湾距离中国海岸线极近，且中国拥有众多空军基地，航母不太可能在中国对台军事行动初期扮演重要角色。但部分专家认为，中国最终可能动用航母实施对台湾的封锁。

“These aircraft carriers are, of course, not aimed solely against Taiwan,” Mr. Jiang said. “But if they’re deployed in the Western Pacific, they could encircle Taiwan.”

“这些航空母舰当然不会是完全针对用在台湾的，”江炘杓表示。“但是他在部署到西太平洋的时候，他就可以扮演对台湾形成一个包围。”

Operating large carriers far from China’s shores and mastering the art of quickly sending out swarms of aircraft from their decks may take the Chinese Navy some time. But Beijing has signaled that it is determined to learn quickly. In September, Chinese military media showed footage of aircraft practicing takeoffs and landings from the Fujian.

中国海军要掌握远离本土操作大型航母、并能从甲板上快速派出大批战机的技术可能需要一段时间。但北京已表明决心快速掌握这项技术。今年9月，中国军方媒体公布了战机在福建舰上进行起降训练的画面。

But China is still some ways from becoming fully mature as a carrier power, Aita Moriki, a research fellow at Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies, wrote in an assessment of the Fujian published in early October. “Many technological and personnel challenges remain,” he wrote.

日本防卫研究所研究员相田守辉在10月初发表的福建舰评估报告中指出：“中国距离成为成熟航母大国仍有距离。技术与人员方面仍面临诸多挑战。”