For the first time, a group of U.S. researchers has concluded that China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor to power future aircraft carriers.

"Operating a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is an exclusive club, one that China looks set to join," says a researcher behind the analysis of satellite images and government documents.

Adding nuclear-powered carriers to China's naval fleet would be a major step in realizing its ambitions for a true "blue-water” force capable of operating in seas far from home in a growing global challenge to the United States.

In a move that could reshape global naval power dynamics, China is reportedly advancing towards its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. This development hints at a significant leap in Beijing's maritime ambitions.