Wishful thinking on somebody's part. It might be big and gray and get underway, but, seriously, a rival to a US carrier ?
During the 1920s and 1930s, American's joked about Japanese military capabilities. Their aircraft were thought to be junk, their rifles pee-shooters, and their battleships a big joke built like pagodas.
No, China's one aircraft carrier isn't a big threat, but I look on it as their USS Langley. China needs aircraft carriers if it is going to be in charge of its own energy, because it must control the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. A fleet of carriers also puts all of SE Asia on notice. Which SE Asian country could fight off 3-4 carrier strike group, carrying 150 modern fighter-attack aircraft?
If the U.S. were smart, we would be looking at a better relationship with India.