Top Chinese and U.S. military officers watched a joint concert performed by military bands from the two countries here Monday night, together with other high-ranking officials of the two militaries, Xinhua reported.
Chen Bingde, Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen were among the 2,000-plus audience at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts who enjoyed the concert featuring the PLA Military Band and the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own."
Attendees also included Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhang Yesui, senior Chinese military officers accompanying Chen in his U.S. trip, and U.S. Army Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey.
On the stage, national anthems, folk songs, classic pieces from both nations were performed. The concert ended with the Ode to Motherland played by the PLA Military Band, which depicted the vigor and vitality of the Chinese people.
The magnificent collaboration between the two bands received big rounds of applause from the audience, who witnessed throughout the concert the cooperative spirit of the two armed forces, as well as the goodwill between the peoples of China and the United States.
The PLA Military Band's U.S. road show, which also includes stops in New York and Philadelphia, was scheduled to coincide Chen's weeklong official visit to the United States. It also marked the first exchange between military bands of the two countries since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and the United States.