If they actually start building carriers, wouldn't this suggest that they believe they can neutralize our stealth technology?
I think the much more likely implication is that they believe in a sharp conflict that they could negate our satellites.
? If the aircraft were forced to take-off from a much more distant location, and if the satellite imagery was not available, it would be very tough to locate a carrier battle group.
In my series I do, however, address the stealth issue. Using the downing of the F-117 over BOsnia as a base line, I weave a fictional tale of the Chinese developing anti-stealth technology which they employ in the conflict.
Heck, the Serbs had a way around our stealth technology. The way regular radar works is by emitting radio waves, and seeing if any are reflected back by a flying object. The way stealth works is by having the plane absorb most of the radar waves, and reflecting the rest in directions other than back to the radar receiver.
The problem with stealth is that you are not truly invisible, just "radar black". If you get BETWEEN a radio transmitter and a sophisticated receiver, you cast a shadow (this is why the US spent some time at the beginning of Iraq II to take out cell towers and other microwave radio sources). To determine where you are, the other side needs to have sophisticated electronics and good computers that can handle signal processing tasks. The Chinese are investing heavily in electronics technology.
If we belatedly discover the Chinese have developed a good way to put any stealth aircraft between a bright microwave source and sophisticated receivers, then we will have a problem.