Sign of Growing Ties Between Nations’ Forces : 3 U.S. Warships in Shanghai for a Visit

SHANGHAI — Three U.S. Navy ships sailed into Shanghai for a courtesy call Friday, one day after Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev visited China’s biggest city.

The 18,200-ton command ship Blue Ridge, flying the U.S. and Chinese flags and with its crew lining the deck, led the way up the Huangpu River, mooring several hundred yards from the Soviet Consulate.

The 620-foot flagship was accompanied by the guided missile frigates Sterett and Rodney M. Davis, one of the Navy’s newest.

They were welcomed by Nie Kuiju, commander of the Chinese navy’s East China Sea Fleet, a brass band and a naval honor guard.

Western sources said the port call, the second by U.S. warships to China since the Communist revolution in 1949, was originally scheduled for Thursday, pointedly timed to coincide with the arrival of the Kremlin leader. But the visit was delayed to avoid damaging the first Sino-Soviet summit in 30 years, the sources said.

“American sailors, I haven’t seen American sailors in years,” marveled a 70-year-old Shanghai man, nudging his wife to steal a glance as a group of white-uniformed sailors melted into a sea of Chinese pro-democracy protesters.

U.S. officials called the visit a sign of growing ties between the armed forces of the two countries, which established diplomatic relations in 1979.

“This marks another step in a continuing series that promotes cooperation between our two navies,” Vice Adm. Henry W. Mauz Jr., commander of the 7th Fleet, told reporters at a news conference aboard the Blue Ridge.

U.S. warships called on the Chinese port of Qingdao in 1986, and the Chinese navy paid a visit to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii last month.

The ships passed almost unnoticed by tens of thousands of Chinese students and workers who poured into the streets along Shanghai’s waterfront for the third consecutive day in a campaign for democracy and political reform.

The Americans have been told to avoid demonstrations, even though they have been entirely peaceful.

During their three-day visit, the 1,600 sailors and officers will participate in a series of discussions and exchanges with their Chinese counterparts and even face off in soccer and basketball.