Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, November 25, 2002
American Destroyer Visits Eastern Chinese Seaport City
The USS Paul F. Foster, a destroyer of the US Navy, arrived in this eastern Chinese harbor Sunday for a five-day visit to Qingdao, the seaport city of east China.
The USS Paul F. Foster, a destroyer of the US Navy, arrived in this eastern Chinese harbor Sunday for a five-day visit to Qingdao, the seaport city of east China.
The North China Sea Fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy held a welcome ceremony on the port for the US Navy ship.The major US officers with the American destroyer visited Ding Yiping, a vice admiral and the commander of the North China Sea Fleet.
Officers and soldiers from both sides are expected to conduct friendly exchange activities during the visit, the sixth by a US warship since military exchanges began in 1986.
It is also the first time a US military ship has docked in a mainland port since a mid-air collision between a US plane and a Chinese fighter off China's southern coast in April 2001.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a press briefing on Thursday that military exchanges between China and US are conducive to improving mutual understanding. They are also useful in promoting bilateral relations, he said.
President Jiang Zemin's visit to the US last month was marked by a number of agreements with US counterpart George W. Bush. These included the resumption of friendly bilateral military exchanges.
Vice-defence ministers of the two nations will hold talks on defence affairs in the coming months.