China approves US carrier visit to Hong Kong

China has cleared a US aircraft carrier to visit Hong Kong next week, US officials said on Thursday, despite its announced plan to trim contacts to protest the latest proposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. 

"We have received clearance from China for the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to visit Hong Kong in the near future," said Matthew Dolbow, spokesman for the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong.

Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, said: "We are pleased that Hong Kong port calls are continuing."

The visit would mark a concession from Beijing, at odds with Washington over the arms sales as well as Internet controls and hacking, trade and currency issues and an imminent visit to Washington by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, who will meet President Barack Obama on Feb 18. 

A spokesman for the US 7th Fleet said clearance for the visit next week had been received from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. Four other ships, the USS Chosin, USS Sampson, USS Pinckney and USS Rentz, will accompany the Nimitz.                                           

Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is "a favorite port of call for US Navy sailors and the ship's crew is looking forward to the visit," said the spokesman, Commander Jeff Davis. 

The last US aircraft carrier to visit Hong Kong was the USS George Washington in November 2009. 

The administration sent its latest proposed Taiwan arms sale package worth $6.4 billion to Congress at the end of last month. Congress has 30 days to act on it, after which the sales may proceed. 

In response, the official China Daily newspaper said the deal would "inevitably cast a long shadow on Sino-U.S. relations."

Included in the US plan are United Technologies Corp  UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters, Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co Patriot Advanced Capability-3 antimissile missiles, enhancements to Taiwan's command control communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, two refurbished Osprey-Class mine-hunting ships, and Boeing Co Harpoon telemetry missiles.                                           

In addition to scaling down security relations and curtailing dialogue, Beijing has said it would sanction U.S. firms that sell weapons to Taiwan. 

Senior Chinese military officers have proposed that their country boost defense spending and possibly sell some US bonds to punish Washington for its latest round of proposed arms sales to Taiwan.

The port call had been in the works for some time, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Beijing has been known to deny entry to U.S. warships to Hong Kong at politically sensitive moments.

In 2007, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk was denied entry to Hong Kong as it neared the city's waters.

China suspended military-to-military exchanges in 2007 after president George W Bush's administration announced the previous US arms sale to Taiwan.

Senior US officials have urged China to maintain military-to-military contacts, partly as a hedge against misunderstandings or accidents at sea that could spiral.