China’s Potemkin Aircraft Carrier

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Calm down, says David Axe, “China’s First Aircraft Carrier is a Piece of Junk.” It’s got lousy engines, lousy air support, lousy convoy support, and lousy sub support. Basically, it’s just a learning experience for the Chinese. They’ll get better eventually, but eventually is still pretty far in the future. Worth a read.

This comes via James Fallows, who wants us all to pay more attention to China, but warns: “Paying attention to China, and taking it seriously, are different from being pie-eyed, gape-mouthed, and otherwise credulous about the overall nature of China’s success.” Also worth a read.