ANNUAL REPORT

233
Select U.S.-China Security-Related Visits and
Exchanges in 2016—Continued
Ark visiting San Diego in November 2015. 343 Also in November
2015, U.S. Navy destroyer Stethem visited Shanghai, where U.S.
Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott Swift met with PLA
Navy Commander Wu Shengli and PLA Navy East Sea Fleet
Commander Admiral Su Zhiqian. 344 Chinese authorities abruptly
canceled a planned May 2016 visit to Hong Kong by U.S. aircraft
carrier John C. Stennis—the first time Beijing had canceled
a port visit since 2014—apparently in response to U.S. Navy
operations in the South China Sea, but a then-ongoing visit
to Hong Kong by command ship Blue Ridge proceeded as
planned. 345 The U.S. guided missile destroyer Benfold made a
scheduled port visit to Qingdao, China in August 2016. 346
High-level official visits: In November 2015, U.S. Pacific Command
Commander Admiral Harry Harris met with PLA generals
in Beijing and Nanjing, including Chief of the Joint Staff Department
under the Central Military Commission General Fang
Fenghui, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
General Fan Changlong, and then-Nanjing Military Region commander
general Cai Yingting; * Secretary Carter also met with
Chinese Minister of National Defense General Chang Wanquan
in Kuala Lumpur at the ADMM-Plus summit. 347 U.S. Chief of
Naval Operations (CNO) John Richardson traveled to China for
three days in July 2016, where he visited the headquarters of
China’s North Sea Fleet in Qingdao, toured Chinese aircraft carrier
Liaoning and the PLA Navy’s submarine academy, and met
with Commander Wu, continuing the trend set by his predecessor,
CNO Jonathan Greenert, who met several times with
Commander Wu. 348 Admiral Swift also visited Qingdao in August
2016. 349
Other exchanges: CNO Richardson held a video teleconference
with Commander Wu in January 2016, continuing the program
of quarterly discussions begun in 2015. CNO Richardson stated
after the teleconference that ‘‘face-to-face interaction and frank
exchanges help build a personal connection that benefits both
our navies now and into the future’’ and a U.S. Navy press release
noted that such conversations serve to establish a dialogue
that reduces the risk of miscalculation between U.S. and Chinese
naval forces. 350 In January 2016 U.S. and Chinese defense officials
met in China for the Defense Policy Coordination Talks,
where they reportedly ‘‘emphasized the positive momentum sustained
in the U.S.-China military-military relationship over the
past year’’ and discussed key regional and global issues. 351 The
U.S. Army held its inaugural Army-to-Army Dialogue Mechanism
with Chinese forces in Beijing in November 2015. 352
dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with USCC
* Due to ongoing reforms in the Chinese military structure, the former Nanjing Military Region
is now the Eastern Theater Command, headquartered in Nanjing.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 12:16 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 020587 PO 00000 Frm 00143 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 G:\GSDD\USCC\2016\FINAL\06_C1_C2_M.XXX 06_C1_C2_M