President Xi Jinping attends the commissioning ceremony of three naval vessels, the Changzheng-18, the Dalian, and the Hainan at a naval port in Sanya, South China's Hainan province on April 23, 2021. [Photo/CCTV]

President Xi Jinping witnessed the commissioning of three of the People's Liberation Army Navy's best vessels in South China's Hainan province on Saturday.

Xi, who also is general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the commissioning ceremony at a naval base in Sanya and conferred a military flag and naming certificate to the commanders of the CNS Changzheng 18, CNS Dalian and CNS Hainan, and took pictures with them.

After the ceremony, the president boarded the Changzheng 18, the Dalian and the Hainan, talking with commanders and crewmembers and inspecting the equipment.

Footage broadcasted by China Central Television showed that the Changzheng 18 is a Type 09IV nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, the Dalian is a Type 055 guided-missile destroyer and the Hainan is a Type 075 amphibious assault ship.

The Type 09IV is believed to be the second-generation class of the nation's nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, replacing the old Type 09II. 

The Type 055 is the most powerful destroyer class in the PLA Navy. With a displacement of more than 12,000 metric tons, this class of ship is equipped with new types of air-defense, missile-defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons.

Each Type 055 vessel has 112 vertical launching cells capable of firing various kinds of missiles, including the nation's long-range, land-attack cruise missile.

The Type 075 is the country's first class of amphibious assault ships. Chinese media have reported that each Type 075 is about 250 meters long and 30 meters wide, and will displace nearly 40,000 tons.

The last time Xi attended the commissioning ceremony of a PLA Navy ship was in December 2019, when the CNS Shandong — the Navy's second aircraft carrier and the first such ship wholly designed and built in the country — was delivered to the Navy at the Sanya naval base.

President Xi Jinping attends the commissioning ceremony of three naval vessels, the Changzheng-18, the Dalian, and the Hainan at a naval port in Sanya, South China's Hainan province on April 23, 2021. [Photo/CCTV]

President Xi Jinping attends the commissioning ceremony of three naval vessels, the Changzheng-18, the Dalian, and the Hainan at a naval port in Sanya, South China's Hainan province on April 23, 2021. [Photo/CCTV]

President Xi Jinping attends the commissioning ceremony of three naval vessels, the Changzheng-18, the Dalian, and the Hainan at a naval port in Sanya, South China's Hainan province on April 23, 2021. [Photo/CCTV]