Well, I just came across this video on the 076 LHD (only in Chinese, unfortunately) yesterday:
The video is originally posted on Bilibili more than 2 years ago, but the content is still relevant to the discussion.
From the minute 7:37 to 7:58 of the video, the narrator mentioned:
Translation:
The comments which followed the tender notice are based on his own interpretation, but the tender notice is real.
Tropical, we have the South China Sea (i.e. Dongsha and Nansha). Low temperature, we have the East China Sea (i.e. Ryukyus).
But, outside of the Middle East and Africa, which active conflict zones suffer from frequent sandstorms?
Based on his comments, even if China has no intention to be very frequently involved in overseas missions (as in, direct conflict participation), having a carrier-lite (075 and 076) in itself is already a very potent power statement to regions wherever the carrier-lite sails to. Conducting friendly port visits, joint naval exercises with navies of other countries, providing humanitarian aid to disaster-hit regions, etc are all part of what makes the carrier-lites a potent diplomatic tool on the global geopolitical stage of the future.
In short, this is merely 兔子摸着鹰酱过河, but with CATOBAR instead of STOVL.
So, yes, I believe we are going to see China getting ever more proactive in global geopolitics in the coming years and decades. Coupled with the "Five Grievances" released by the PRC MOFA, alongside the recent comments by Xi Jinping and Qin Gang on the US - Perhaps China is finally done with always "being the good guy"...
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