Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert hosted the head of the Chinese Navy during a visit to the U.S. 3rd Fleet headquarters in Naval Station San Diego, Calif. on Monday.
Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Adm. Wu Shengli, toured aircraft USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Jefferson City (SSN-759) and went underway on the Littoral Combat Ship USS Ft. Worth (LCS-3).
Last week, Greenert previewed the meeting saying that a better relationship with China would prevent “miscalculation,” in the future.
China has been embroiled in an ongoing conflict in the South China Sea with other nations in the region over overlapping territorial claims. The U.S. has declared neutrality as tensions rise over claims but has advocated for multi-country talks to settle disputes while China prefers to deal with nations individually.
Shengli’s visit is part of an ongoing campaign to improve military to military relations between the U.S. and China.
In August, U.S. Navy and PLAN sailors conducted anti-piracy drills in the Gulf of Aden.
On Friday, three PLAN ships — Luhu-class destroyer Qingdao, Jinagkai-class frigate Linyl and oiler Hongzehu pulled into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii for low-level search and rescue exercises with U.S. counter parts.
The U.S. base visit by the Chinese warships — the first in six years — and Shengli’s visit with Greenert come ahead of the planned inclusion of the PLAN in the 2014 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.
Last month, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel hosted Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Chang Wanquan and outlined the recent push for increased cooperation.
“Substantive military-to-military relationship is an important pillar for this strong bilateral relationship. The United States welcomes and supports the rise of a prosperous and responsible China that help solve regional and global problems,” Hagel said on Aug. 19.
