By Zachary Keck
State media report that China’s new Type 032 Qing-class submarine was displayed at an expo last week.
China’s state-run media is reporting that Beijing publicly displayed what is believed to be the largest conventional submarine in the world last week.
According to Want China Times, which cited a Chinese-language report in the state-run Guangming Daily, China’s new Type 032 Qing-class test submarine was on display last week at the Sixth Shipping Expo held in Guangdong province in southern China from June 6 to June 8. IHS Jane’s also noted the report was carried in China’s state media outlets.
The Type 032 submarine first came to foreign analysts’ attention in 2010 when pictures emerged on the Chinese internet of the vessel in a Wuhan-based shipyard (at that time, some began calling it a Type 043 submarine, causing some confusion).
According to Global Security, development of the submarine began in early 2005 followed by construction in 2008. Construction was completed in 2010, and sea trials ended in the fall of 2012. It entered PLA service in October of that same year, and testing commenced in 2013.
Read the full story at The Diplomat