Watching China's second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, sail into Hong Kong waters this week was quite the spectacle. I caught that TV interview too - the middle-aged bloke saying how proud he felt seeing his country's military development. And honestly, he's got every right to feel that way.
Naval power has always been the ultimate flex when it comes to projecting strength across the globe. Before long range missiles were developed, aircraft carriers were basically floating cities of power, ready to park themselves wherever they pleased and make their presence known.
When Naval Power Rewrote History
It's not just about having cool ships. It literally shapes the rise and fall of nations. Take the 1894 Sino-Japanese War, for instance. China had warships bought from Germany, but still got hammered by Japan. That wasn't just a military defeat - it was a complete reversal of fortune that saw Japan leap from feudal backwater to regional powerhouse.
And what kicked off Japan's transformation? Those famous American "Black Ships" steaming into Tokyo Bay forty years earlier. Picture this: sword-wielding samurai suddenly face-to-face with massive industrial warships. Talk about a wake-up call. The Americans basically forced Japan to open up for trade, and within decades, Japan had gone from medieval isolation to defeating both China and Russia.
China's Long Road Back to the Waves
Fast forward to modern times, and China's naval journey has been nothing short of remarkable. After starting economic reforms in 1978, it took 34 years - until 2012 - for China to get its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, into service. And that wasn't even built from scratch - it was converted from a half-finished Soviet hull called the Varyag.
By 2019, China launched the Shandong - completely homegrown. Suddenly, China joined that exclusive club of nations that can actually build these maritime monsters from the ground up. We're talking about the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK (India barely counts with its limited capabilities).
The Shandong: More Than Just a Big Boat
Let's talk specs for a moment, because this ship is genuinely impressive. At 305 meters long and 75 meters wide, with a displacement of over 60,000 tons, the Shandong isn't just big - it's a floating fortress. It can carry 36 aircraft, including at least 20 J-15 or J-15T fighters, and comes packed with defensive systems that would make any navy think twice.
The ship maxes out at 31 knots (about 57 km/h) and has the range to cover the entire Western Pacific. Not bad for a "conventional" carrier using ski-jump takeoffs rather than catapults.
The Game-Changer: Enter the Fujian
More advanced aircraft carriers are nuclear-powered and catapult-based aircraft take off. Nuclear power allows aircraft carriers to cruise for long periods of time without refueling; while catapult take-off can expand deck space and accommodate more carrier-based aircraft. Although China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, is still a conventionally powered aircraft carrier, it has an electromagnetic catapult system solely developed by China, and the traditional powered aircraft carrier can use a high-performance electromagnetic catapult system instead of the traditional steamer catapult system. China has achieved the world’s number one in this technology.
Reality Check: Numbers Don't Tell the Whole Story
Sure, America has 11 carriers to China's current three, but the US Navy's surge readiness is not pretty and they can't keep all their ships operational simultaneously. Maintenance issues, global commitments, and stretched resources mean that on any given day, roughly half of America's carrier fleet is either in dock or not ready for action.
China's building two more carriers (Type 004 and Type 005), reportedly nuclear-powered. When China has five carriers running simultaneously, they might actually have more deployable carriers than the US in the Pacific at any given moment. And unlike America, which has to “police” the entire planet, China's carriers can focus on one region: the Pacific.
This isn't just about military hardware - it's about China finally having the tools to protect its interests in its own backyard. The Shandong's visit to Hong Kong wasn't just a show of force; it was a statement that China's century of naval weakness is officially over.
Whether you're watching these carriers from the harbor or just reading about them online, the real story isn't just the impressive weaponry - it's about a nation that's finally got the maritime muscle to back up its words. And frankly, it's about time the world started taking that seriously.
Lo Wing-hung
Bastille Commentary
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
“He preaches water and drinks wine.” This Western proverb could not be more apt in describing those “honorable” members of the US Congress sitting atop Capitol Hill.
The US Senate and House just greenlit the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. Sure, it hikes defense spending. Buried in there are special provisions targeting China that would make any objective observer squirm.
The law mandates that the US Director of National Intelligence publish a public report disclosing the global financial status of Xi Jinping and other top Chinese leaders – plus their relatives. We're talking about all Politburo and Standing Committee members, their family members, including the so-called "white gloves" – financial agents managing assets on their behalf.
It’s specified that the report must be unclassified, available online for anyone with an internet connection to read. A similar clause appeared in the 2023 NDAA but got dismissed as superficial. However, this version is detailed, explicit, and loaded with congressional pressure to expose what the US lawmakers claim is hidden Chinese wealth.
Capitol Hill's Shameless Overreach
Watching these American legislators operate is infuriating. They slip targeted clauses against Chinese leaders into a domestic bill, essentially broadcasting to the world that China's leadership sits on vast private fortunes – corruption implied. Since the law requires public release, this isn't about genuine investigation. It's propaganda, pure and simple.
First question: what right does the US have to do this? If Congress passes a bill investigating American citizens' assets, nobody can object. But investigating foreign leaders' finances? That's a different story entirely.
Another country's leadership finances should be handled by that country's own institutions – not Washington's long arm. This arrogance stems from "American Exceptionalism," a concept that still drives US foreign policy today.
The term "American Exceptionalism" was coined back in 1831 by Alexis de Tocqueville. It expresses the notion that America is unique – founded on liberty, individualism, equality before the law, and laissez-faire capitalism. Through this lens, America stands stable, prosperous, and incomparable to any other nation – an ideal constitutional republic.
When Kitchens Became Battlegrounds
From this belief emerged a foreign policy where the US sees itself as a chosen nation entitled to impose its "perfect" system on others – even launching color revolutions to topple governments and force them to replicate American democracy. During the Cold War, Americans framed this ideological struggle as "freedom and democracy" versus "Communist tyranny." The famous "Kitchen Debate" perfectly captured this mindset.
In July 1959, at the American National Exhibition opening in Moscow, 46-year-old Vice President Richard Nixon sparred with 65-year-old Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev inside a model American kitchen on display. The exhibit showcased washing machines, refrigerators, and household appliances as symbols of capitalist prosperity.
Before the cameras, Khrushchev remarked that Soviets cared only for practicality, not luxury. Nixon shot back that under capitalism, Americans enjoyed the freedom to choose how they lived – to buy or not to buy. Most observers concluded Nixon won that round, largely because America's material abundance stood in stark contrast to Soviet austerity.
But today? Time has turned the tables. If Donald Trump visited China and rode a high-speed train, we might witness a new "High-Speed Rail Debate" – one where US capitalism would find itself at a distinct disadvantage.
Yet American politicians still cling to "American Exceptionalism," believing they hold the right to meddle everywhere. Now that America's strength has waned – its system corroded, its manufacturing hollowed out, its infrastructure decayed, its streets filled with drug-addled zombies – US lawmakers' persistence in policing the world reeks of dark comedy.
America's Fading Exceptionalism
Second question: what moral ground does the US stand on? Washington claims to expose corruption by investigating Chinese leaders' wealth, yet it ignores rampant corruption among its own politicians.
Take Trump. During his campaign, he enthusiastically championed cryptocurrency, promising to promote the sector once elected. Then, on the eve of taking office, he launched his own meme coin – "$Trump." By Chinese Mainland standards, that's textbook corruption: promoting a policy and, before assuming power, issuing a financial product that would benefit from that same policy. It's retail investor fleecing, plain and simple.
Here's the damage: $Trump launched before Trump's inauguration and peaked at USD 49.26. As of December 19? It's plunged to USD 5.07 – a brutal 90% collapse. Retail investors got ruthlessly fleeced, yet no one dares speak up.
The Stock Goddess Retires
Then there's Nancy Pelosi, former House Speaker – the real "Goddess of Stocks," outperforming even Warren Buffett. In 2023, Pelosi's family achieved an 84.3% investment return, crushing Buffett's numbers. Their fortune ballooned from USD 41 million in 2004 to USD 120 million in 2023, with some holdings soaring 96% in just a few years.
Market observers almost universally believe Pelosi trades on insider information – how else could anyone consistently outperform world-class fund managers? Her trades became so influential that investors created tracking tools and even an ETF fund mirroring her stock picks.
Pelosi denies any wrongdoing and dismisses accusations that lawmakers profit from nonpublic information. But she can't explain her uncanny market timing – a godlike ability that defies rational explanation.
Even some American progressives find this intolerable. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) proposed multiple bills to ban congressional stock trading. But as a minority voice, her proposals failed. No one can stop Capitol Hill's "Stock Goddess." Now that Pelosi announced plans to retire in 2027, investors mourn as if the market lost a guiding star – with no more Pelosi trades to follow for profit.
In the end, this is what "American democracy" has become – a system that openly permits abuse of power. Yet these very same legislators have the audacity to pass laws investigating the wealth of Chinese leaders. They preach water but drink wine – a hypocrisy so absurd it chills the spine.
Lo Wing-hung
