Guo Boxiong , visiting vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), on Tuesday met US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

Guo, who ranks the second to Chairman Hu Jintao in the 11- member CMC, China's top military authority, received a warm welcome from Rumsfeld at a ceremony at the Pentagon.

A US military band played the national anthems of China and the United States.

During his stay in Washington, the general is also expected to meet with other senior members of the Bush administration.

Guo is the highest-ranking military officer from China to visit the United States since 2001.

His visit to the United States is the latest sign that the two nations are boosting their military relations through exchange of high-level visits.

Invited by Rumsfeld, Guo started his week-long US trip on Sunday when he arrived in Los Angeles.

The general will also visit military bases and institutions in the United States.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2006)