中国第一艘航母正式服役

Liaoning is a refurbished former Soviet Union ship purchased by the Chinese government from Ukraine. The vessel underwent years of refitting efforts to install engines, weapons, as well as a year-long sea trial.

Major general Du Wenlong is with the PLA Academy of Military Science.

"China's overseas interests have been increasing, so we want to establish a navy capacity that suits the size of our country. Furthermore, we will have more tasks in the future to safeguard our territory and our people's interests. We will learn from Liaoning, which will contribute to the development of big vessels and combat missions at sea."

Liaoning was formally handed over to the navy at a ceremony at the port of Dalian, attended by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

Wen Jiabao said that the development of carriers is an important part of China's national defence modernization.

The delivery made China the tenth country in the world and the last among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to have an aircraft carrier in active service.

Meantime, Major general Du Wenlong says the military aircrafts that will operate on Liaoning have advanced striking capability.

"The aircraft is a heavy duty one, which means it can fly longer distance, carry more ammunition, and fuel. Its striking capacity is among the best in the world. I think the Chinese-made aircraft will operate perfectly on the carrier and it symbolizes that for the first time China has sea and air combat capacity."

The People's Liberation Army says the carrier will be mostly used for scientific research and military training missions and China could build a more advanced aircraft carrier in the future.

For CRI, I'm Shen Chengcheng.