A US aircraft carrier arrived in Hong Kong on Monday, just days after China refused permission to allow a US military spy plane to land in the territory.
The USS Constellation and six other US Navy vessels arrived for a six-day port call in Hong Kong.
The arrival of the carrier and its support group comes several days after Beijing refused a request to allow a US military spy plane to land in Hong Kong.
China has refused the entry of the US spy plane after considering "related factors" surrounding a requested visit by a US P-3C military aircraft, report said on Sunday.
"As to applications of foreign military planes and military vessels to visit Hong Kong, we have taken into consideration of their specific requests and other related factors before we ratify them case by case," foreign ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi was quoted by Xinhua news agency said.
The US P-3C is similar to the US spy plane involved in a collision with a Chinese fighter jet on April 1.
The collision killed the Chinese pilot and soured the relations between the two countries as the two nations bickered over who was responsible for the incident.
US naval ship visits to Hong Kong were suspended following the mid-air collision but resumed last month.
The aircraft carrier USS Constellation and six other ships paid a port call in Hong Kong on Monday, and will leave on Saturday.
(www.chinadaily.com.cn 08/21/2001)
