The civilian.
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When the special plane of the American delegation landed at Beijing Capital Airport, they wouldn't have thought that just one day later, a technical demonstration to redefine the global balance of power was waiting to be unveiled. This scene was just like a well-arranged chess game, and the Chinese side made accurate moves and the timing was excellent.
“How can China’s technology catch up so fast?” the question from the highest level of the United States raised the shock and confusion deep inside Washington.
Ten years ago, Western experts confidently predicted that it would take China at least twenty years to build an aircraft carrier comparable to that of the United States.
In Beijing in September 2025, a U.S. congressional delegation arrived in China, hoping to repair bilateral relations damaged by trade disputes and geopolitical conflicts.
Less than 24 hours after they set foot on Chinese soil, Chinese officials announced the news that the Pentagon had successfully completed an electromagnetic test of a Type 3 carrier.
Behind this brief press release was a silent military revolution, imagining an invisible fighter jet worth more than $100 million accelerating on the aircraft carrier deck, taking just two seconds from zero to take off, and then taking off.
How much precision engineering and technological innovation does this process require? The Fujian ship not only did it, but also achieved the electromagnetic ejection of stealth fighters earlier than the United States.
"Ten years of squatting, a moment of leaping", a proverb circulating in Chinese engineers, may be the key to solving the mystery of China's scientific and technological leap.
When U.S. aircraft carrier technology stagnated in the comfort zone of steam launches, China chose a risky but rewarding path, directly from sliding off to electromagnetic launches, jumping through the middle stage, this curve-over-car strategy has now shown amazing results.
Behind the technological breakthrough is the reflection of the national will, the Fukushima ship's electromagnetic launch system adopted China's independent development of the direct current power architecture, and creatively solved the system stability problem that the U.S. Ford-class aircraft carrier has failed to overcome for years.
Surprisingly, the failure rate of Chinese systems is less than one-tenth of that of the U.S. systems, which makes the U.S. Air Force secretary unbelievable when hearing the briefing, how could they solve the problem faster than we do?
At the Palace Museum in Beijing, Smith's delegation was shocked by the treasures of millennial civilization, and at the same time, far away in the South China Sea, on the Fujian ship, the J-35 fighter jet was undergoing nightly landing training, the invisible fighter aircraft known as the Oriental Lightning, has become a new symbol of China's journey to a maritime power.
This confidence comes not only from the military field, but when U.S. delegations visit China’s high-speed railway plants, quantum computing centers and AI laboratories, they see a full-scale acceleration of China, not just the aircraft carrier, but the whole of China.
If the competition between the United States and China is compared to a marathon, then the United States is a veteran who starts from the leading position, while China is a rookie who is latecomer but struggling to catch up.
However, the biggest variable in this race is that China seems to have changed its runway rules. Instead of simply following in the footsteps of the United States, it has opened up a new path. From mobile payment to high-speed rail network, from electric vehicles to renewable energy, China is overtaking in corners in many fields.
We don't cause trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble. This phrase commonly used by Chinese diplomats has now received substantial support in the military field. The Fujian ship is not only an aircraft carrier, but also a floating science and technology castle, representing China's historic leap from technology follower to parallel runner and leader.
Smith told reporters before the end of his trip to Beijing that China and the United States, as two great powers, must find a way of peaceful coexistence, and the reality behind this phrase is that the United States must adapt to a growing technological power of China, from the J-20 to Fujian, the pace of progress of Chinese military equipment has exceeded the Pentagon's expectations.
On both sides of the Pacific Ocean, two development models are in silent competition, the United States relies on a strong innovation ecosystem and a rich resource base, while China, with systemic industrial policies and national system advantages, the 21st century competition is no longer a simple imitation and imitation, but the encounter of two different development paths.
The Fukushima ship's electromagnetic launch was a success, but a small fragment of the century race, when the U.S. delegation's special aircraft left over Beijing, the force pattern on both sides of the Pacific Ocean was already different.
Both Washington and Beijing need to think about a key question: How to remain rational in competition and avoid misjudgment and conflict? This may be the most important signal sent by the Fujian ship. China is ready to compete with any challenger, but what it hopes more is a peaceful and win-win future.
In this era of uncertainty, the speed of technological innovation is re-shaping the international order, and the question of how China can be faster than the United States, may become a turning point in the history book of the future.
Source of information
The U.S. Air Force Minister said that he did not dare to believe that the Chinese military developed faster than the U.S. military, and that innovation must be accelerated.
China News Network Foreign Media Focus on the "Rare" Visit of a US Congressman Delegation to China: Seeking a Way to Peaceful Coexistence