Article Summary and Key Points: China’s ambition to acquire an aircraft carrier was realized when businessman Xu Zengping bought an unfinished Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier from cash-strapped Ukraine in 1997. Xu, pretending to open a floating casino, secured the carrier for $20 million.
Key Point #1 – Eventually transformed into the PLAN’s Liaoning, the acquisition provided crucial insights into carrier operations, aircraft sorties, and naval logistics, significantly enhancing China’s maritime capabilities.
Key Point #2 – Although less advanced than Western carriers, the Liaoning set the foundation for China’s future naval power projection, leading directly to the development of the more capable nuclear-powered Type 004 carrier—establishing China as a major naval contender.
How China Secretly Bought Its First Aircraft Carrier from Ukraine
Since the days of Mao Zedong, China had been keen to acquire an aircraft carrier, convinced that war could break out with the United States or even with the Soviet Union following the Sino-Soviet split that drove the USSR and Communist China apart.
Though a single carrier couldn’t hope to keep the Americans or the Soviets at bay for long, it would alter the calculus of either country should war break out.
Though the PLAN had considered the idea of building an aircraft carrier from scratch, the navy decided that the project would be overwhelmingly challenging, and could risk raising the hackles of China’s neighbors over concerns of territorial expansion.
However, the Chinese took notice when an unfinished Ukrainian aircraft carrier popped onto the market for sale.
For Sale, An Aircraft Carrier from Ukraine
In 1992, the Soviet Union had collapsed, and the newly independent — and cash-strapped — country of Ukraine put an aircraft carrier, an unfinished Kuznetsov-class, up for sale.
Xu Zengping, a basketball player for the Guangzhou Military Command of the PLA, went to Mykolaiv, a Ukrainian city on the Black Sea and formerly the juggernaut of Soviet shipbuilding.
Kuznetsov-class
The Soviet Navy had planned for the Kuznetsov-class to be the centerpiece of their navy. With a prominent ski jump as well as arrestor gear for landing, the carriers offered an enormous boost in capabilities compared to the older Kiev-class carriers they would replace, which could only accommodate VSTOL aircraft.
The Soviets classified the carriers as heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers in order to pass through the Turkish Straits legally (somewhat ironically, in Chinese service, the ex-Kuznetsov-class are classified as aircraft carriers).
Business — But Who’s Business?
A Hong Kong-based businessman friend lent Xu HK$230 million, or about $29.7 million 1997 dollars, Xu told the South China Morning Post in 2015.
“I was chosen to do the deal. I realised it was a mission impossible because buying something like a carrier should be a national commitment, not one by a company or an individual,” Xu told the newspaper. “But my passion pushed me to take on the mission because it was a now-or-never chance for China to buy a new carrier from a nearly insolvent state-owned Ukrainian shipbuilder.”
The Ukrainians apparently did not want to sell off the carrier for it to be used for military purposes. To get around this fact, Xu lied, saying he planned to turn the carrier into a floating casino. After many nights full of libations, Xu eventually secured the deal for $20 million in 1997.
There was a hitch, however. Early in 1998, the Ukrainians reportedly reneged, opting instead to post the carrier for sale at public auction.
Somewhat inexplicably, however, Xu was the only bidder who had gathered the correct paperwork. Documentation was in hand, and Xu posted the winning bid and the eventual entry of the carrier into service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
Legacy: How China Started Its New Aircraft Carrier Fleet
Though the Liaoning is less capable than the nuclear-powered carriers in the American or French navies or Britain’s conventionally-powered aircraft carriers, the Liaoning’s worth is in the door it helped open for China.
Image Credit: Creative Commons.
By acquiring the ship, the PLAN gained valuable insight into not only just aircraft carriers but also how to operate and support aircraft carriers while underway, how to launch and sustain aircraft sorties, and how to protect a carrier at sea.
The Liaoning paved the way for China’s upcoming Type 004 carrier, a nuclear-powered ship that could rival some of the best carriers in the world in some respects.
Fujian, China’s new aircraft carrier. Image Credit: Chinese Internet.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
