Chinese President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, meets with representatives of the Shandong aircraft carrier unit and its manufacturer at a naval port in Sanya, Hainan Province in south China, on December 17 (XINHUA)

The Shandong, the first aircraft carrier that China built entirely on its own, was put into active service in Sanya, Hainan Province in the south, on December 17. Construction started in November 2013. The carrier underwent several sea trials before being commissioned.

Now China has two aircraft carriers in active service. The first, the Liaoning, is a Soviet-era vessel that was extensively refitted before being put into service in September 2012. It has executed several long-range operations with other warships.