On the afternoon of March 14th, Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, released a statement regarding recent military related issues.

Reporter: According to reports, the US side claims that China may be building a large nuclear powered aircraft carrier, with a tonnage equivalent to that of the US aircraft carrier. What is the spokesperson's comment on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: The media reports are purely speculative. It should be noted that we always consider the construction of aircraft carriers comprehensively based on national security needs and equipment technology development.