PLA officers will step aboard the USS Blue Ridge in the harbour this evening in the highest level military contact between the US and mainland since the bombing of the Belgrade embassy in May.
An invitation from Vice-Admiral Walter Doran for the garrison to attend a reception had been accepted, a consular spokeswoman said.
She refused to reveal which PLA officers would attend, although sources said the invitation was issued to garrison commander Major-General Xiong Ziren.
Vice-Admiral Doran is the most senior American military officer to visit Hong Kong since Beijing downgraded military ties following the bombing.
The cooling in ties was followed by a series of refusals by Beijing to approve visits to Hong Kong by US warships and military aircraft.
USS Blue Ridge, the guided-missile command ship of the US 7th fleet, arrives this morning and will berth at Ocean Terminal.
PLA officers have previously declined on-board invitations to US warships and today's is significant for marking normalisation of relations between the two countries.
