Sea trials have started for China's first aircraft carrier.

Xinhua News Agency said the carrier left Dalian port in north east Liaoning province this morning. The test run had been anticipated.

Citing unnamed military sources, Xinhua said the sea trial was in line with the schedule to rebuild the carrier.

China officially acknowledged two weeks ago that it is rebuilding the carrier it bought more than a decade ago from Russia.

It said the refurbished ship will be used only for research and training.

Xinhua said refitting and test work will continue on the carrier when it returns from its sea trials.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.