BEIJING—China surpassed current U.S. capabilities in a race to explore resources in the deepest parts of the world's oceans and set its sights on beating world leader Japan next year.

The Jiaolong, China's first manned deep-sea submersible completed a Pacific Ocean dive to 5,057 meters (16,591 feet). It set the Chinese record at 6:17 a.m. Beijing time Tuesday in the northeastern Pacific, between Hawaii and the North American mainland, according to a statement on the website of the State Oceanic Administration.

The three-person vessel carried out various tests, including landing on the seabed several times, and took photographs of sea creatures during the operation, which lasted almost six hours and was the second of four planned dives, according to the statement.

The dive means that the Jiaolong—named after a mythical Chinese sea dragon—is capable of reaching 70% of the ocean floor, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, adding that the vessel was expected to attempt a dive to 7,000 meters—the maximum it is designed to withstand—in 2012.

If that dive is successful, it would allow the Jiaolong to explore 99.8% of the seabed and put it at the top of a list of just five manned submersibles capable of diving below 3,500 meters, where many rich mineral deposits are thought to reside.