The Chinese and US sides have recently held several rounds of consultations on the US EP-3 reconnaissance plane in Beijing.
The Chinese side has reiterated its principled position on the incident in which the US plane rammed into a Chinese plane.
The US side has agreed to consider making a payment to the Chinese side. The two sides will conduct another round of negotiations on the specific amount of the US payment and the items to be covered.
The two sides have also agreed to discuss ways to avoid similar incidents in the future through enhanced consultation mechanism on military maritime safety.
Having completed its investigation and evidence collection involving the US plane and in view of international precedents in handling such issues, the Chinese side has decided to allow the US side to inspect its plane at the Lingshui Airport.
According to some sources, the two sides will continue their discussions for the final settlement of the issue concerning the US reconnaissance plane.
(China Daily 04/30/2001)
