Aircraft carrier a feasible choice

Will China's economy be unduly burdened if the government builds four aircraft carriers, complete with their formations, in the coming decades? Will an aircraft carrier building project be a drag on the national economy or will it be a shot in the arm for the country's industrial and economic upgrade?

A country's GDP is the basic criterion that determines whether it is capable of building or developing an aircraft carrier. In 2011, China's GDP was 47.16 trillion yuan ($7.55 trillion), a 9.2 percent growth compared with that of 2010. As the world's second largest economy, China's long-term economic prospects are good.

According to my estimate, China will have to spend about $7 billion to build four aircraft carriers and need another $30 billion to complete their formations. Many research institutes have projected that China's GDP would cross $17.7 trillion by 2030. So the overall cost of building and maintaining aircraft carriers will be less than 0.2 percent of GDP in 2030. This means China will not face any difficulty in supporting four aircraft carriers so long as its economy keeps growing.