Xu Zengping was formerly the captain of the PLA Guangzhou Military Command basketball team, in the late 1990s, he was tasked with negotiating the purchase of China’s first aircraft carrier.
Speaking to the media for the first time, Xu revealed that the four engines that powered the ship were actually intact and carefully grease-sealed when it was sold to China.
As for the ship’s pennant number 16, Xu said it was “because we spent 16 years getting the job done, from making the deal to rebuilding it.”