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China's aircraft carrier Shandong enters service

China's leader Xi Jinping commissioned the vessel

BEIJING, December 17. /TASS/. China's first domestically built aircraft carrier Shandong entered service in the Sanya port (Hainan province), Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

According to the state agency, the commissioning took place at 16:00 local time (11:00 Moscow time), China's President Xi Jinping took part in the ceremony.

Shandong is China's first domestically built aircraft carrier. China also has Liaoning vessel at its dipsposal built on the basis of Russia's flagship Varyag cruiser bought from Ukraine. This year it underwent modernization.

Shandong was built using the same design, only by the national insustry's capacities.

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