The head of the Chinese Navy will visit San Diego this week as part of the buildup to major international military exercises next summer that will include China for the first time.
The U.S. Navy’s chief of naval operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, will host his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Wu Shengli. While here, the Chinese military leader will tour the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in port at North Island Naval Air Station and the littoral combat ship Fort Worth at sea. Wu’s visit will also include Camp Pendleton.
Meanwhile, it Hawaii, three Chinese Navy ships are at Pearl Harbor in the first Chinese port visit in the United States since 2006.
Wu last visited the United States in 2007.
Starting Monday, Greenert and Wu will go to the headquarters of U.S. Third Fleet, the command that runs the every-other-year Rim of the Pacific exercises in Hawaii. China has accepted an invitation to participate in RIMPAC next summer, for the first time.
After San Diego, the two admirals will travel to Washington, D.C.
The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Cecil Haney, visited China in May in conjunction with a port visit by the U.S. cruiser Shiloh at Zhanjiang, China.
Navy officials say these counterpart exchanges should build trust and open communication channels between the two nations -- one the world’s only superpower and the other a growing military and economic world player sometimes at odds with the United States. Also, in case of natural disasters in the Pacific, the two navies may need to know how to work together.
