Chinese defense minister meets U.S. navy chief

Liang on Tuesday also met with Admiral Metin Atac, commander of Turkey's naval forces, and the Republic of Korea's Chief of Naval Operations Jung Ok-keun, pledging to improve cooperation and ties between the PLA Navy and the two countries' naval forces.

China launched a grand maritime ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of its navy on Monday off the coast of the eastern city of Qingdao.

The four-day celebration includes seminars, a sampan race and a fleet review scheduled for Thursday that will feature the first public appearance of the country's nuclear submarines.

A total of 21 foreign naval vessels from 14 countries, including the United States and Russia, and delegations from 29 countries will take part.

The PLA Navy was founded on April 23, 1949, with nine warships and 17 boats obtained when a unit of the Kuomintang's second coastal defense fleet defected to the PLA.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei