Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Gary Roughead will arrive in China over the weekend for his first visit to the country as the commander, according to sources with the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

During his week-long visit to the country, Roughead will meet with senior Chinese governmental officials and military officers.

He will also visit the USS Juneau (LPD 10), which will participate in a search-and-rescue exercise with the Navy of the People's Liberation Army and make a port visit to Zhanjiang in south China's Guangdong Province.

The Pacific Fleet encompasses about 178 ships, 1,500 aircraft and more than 159,565 Sailors, Marines and Civilians. Under the Pacific Fleet Commander's operational control are the U.S. Third Fleet and the Seventh Fleet.

Source: Xinhua