[James C. Bennett]

But he has a point. The easiest part about having a carrier-equipped navy, is acquiring one. The hardest, is evolving the logistics and operations, and that takes decades to develop and fine-tune.

[Jeff Head]

I believe the Chinese will commission the former Russian Varyag as the PLAN Shi Lang within 2-3 years. After that, they will spend another 3-5 years integrating their aircraft (probably initially either SU-33 aircraft purchased from Russia, or perhaps equally likely licensed built J-11b aircraft of their own modified for the carrier role).

Transformation of the Varyag into an operational PLAN Aircraft Carrier

Once they do this, IMHO, they will build their own indegenous carriers to a modified Varyag design, probably at least two. At least one of those (if not both) being commissioned by 2020.

[Republic of Texas]

Exactly. It ain’t just the Carrier, it’s the fleet that goes with it.