BEIJING - China's Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chen Bingde will visit US military facilities during his visit to the United States next week, a defense ministry official said Thursday.

Chen will visit Naval Station Norfolk, Fort Stewart, Nellis Air Force Base and the US Army's National Training Center, Huang Xueping, director of American and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Foreign Affairs Office with the National Defense Ministry, said at a news briefing.

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At the invitation of the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, Chen will pay a visit to the United States from May 15 to 22.

"The United States has arranged for Chen to visit some US military facilities that have not been opened to visiting military leaders for years," Huang said.

"It demonstrates the importance Admiral Mullen attaches to Chen's visit and the positive attitude the United States has to developing relations between the two militaries," he added.

During his visit, Chen will hold talks with Mullen, and meet with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Tom Donilon, Huang said.

Chen will also deliver a speech on the new-type military relations between China and the United States at the National Defense University.

Chen's visit, the first in seven years by a PLA chief of the general staff, is part of the efforts to implement the consensus reached by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart, President Barack Obama.