Talks adjourn in Beijing

U.S. delegation leader Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Pete Verga enters the US Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday morning     WEB EXCLUSIVE Andrea Koppel: What's at stake in U.S.-China talks

By Rebecca MacKinnon
CNN Beijing bureau chief

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A U.S. delegation met with Chinese officials for just over three hours Wednesday about a military plane collision that caused the apparent death of a Chinese pilot and severe damage to an American EP-3 spy plane.

At the end of the meeting, the U.S. delegation left without making a statement, however, a written statement was expected.

Additional talks also were expected.

The meeting began at 3 p.m. Beijing time Wednesday (3 a.m. ET) at the Foreign Ministry.

The U.S. negotiating team includes a deputy undersecretary of defense, the director of the State Department's Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs, a military attaché and adviser from the U.S. Embassy, and Navy officials including a rear admiral.

VIDEO CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports on how and when U.S. reconnaissance flights are expected to resume near China Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) New video released by the Pentagon shows a Chinese pilot flying so close to a U.S. plane his hand gestures are visible Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Analysts say the talks can be described as 'tough.' CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon reports Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   AUDIO Rebecca MacKinnon on the agenda, the mood, and the officials involved in the talks 1.8MB/2:58 mins. AIFF or WAV sound   ALSO Academics make freedom plea to China Chinese F-8s carried Israeli missiles U.S. may resume spy flights by end of week    RESOURCES This computer animation shows how the Pentagon says the collision between a U.S. plane and a Chinese fighter happened Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Timeline: Overnight calls brought word of release deal    IN-DEPTH U.S.-China Collision: A diplomatic solution  • About freighter returning EP-3  • Look: Inside the EP-3  • Facts about the EP-3  • Map: Locating the incident  • Big picture: High stakes  • Classroom discussion guide  • Historical US-China timeline  • Whidbey arrival images  • Crew speaks out  • Crew's return images

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the Chinese can expect "tough questions" from the U.S. delegation, and the U.S. side will detail its view that the Chinese are to blame for the accident.

"We'll see what they are prepared to address and draw our own conclusions about how they intend to proceed with this relationship," Boucher said.

The Chinese appeared to put the burden of resolving the remaining differences on the United States.

"China is trying to solve this incident in a calm manner," Zhang said. "The development of Sino-U.S. relations needs efforts from both sides, so the United States should take responsible, effective measures to avoid such things happening again and it should not do anything that may harm (the) Sino-U.S. relationship."

Some members of Congress are urging sanctions against China over the incident, suggesting that the United States move to block Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games or oppose further free trade agreements. But some warn that it is Washington that stands to lose from isolating a rapidly growing China.

Others are urging President Bush to approve the sale of destroyers equipped with the Aegis advanced air defense radar system to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials have been pressing for resolutions critical of China's human rights record at a United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

Both the U.S. and China employed tough language in the hours leading up to the meeting.

In Washington, the Pentagon released videotape of Chinese fighter pilots flying close to U.S. surveillance flights to buttress its claim that the Chinese pilots were flying aggressively.

Chinese officials maintained their stance that the United States was to blame for the April 1 collision over the South China Sea. The Chinese F-8 fighter and its pilot, Wang Wei, have not been found since the collision.

"We already noticed that some senior U.S. government officials have made irresponsible remarks," Zhang Qiyue, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said at a briefing.

"They want to ignore the facts, confusing right and wrong and want to shift responsibility onto others, and we express our strong dissatisfaction with this."

The U.S. crew was detained by China for 11 days after the collision, and U.S. officials believe the $80 million-plus Navy EP-3E Aries II spy plane has been exhaustively searched by Chinese authorities.

"We want our airplane back, and we're going to make that point, and we would expect to get a response," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington.

The United States maintains aggressive intercept practices by the Chinese pilot led to the collision.

Meanwhile, top U.S. military officials have recommended that spy flights should not resume immediately off China's southern coast, scene of the mid-air collision that has severely strained bilateral relations, defense officials said on Tuesday.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, said the Pentagon Joint Chiefs of Staff, who head the military services, had recommended a phased approach under which spy flights would resume first off China's eastern coast and only later off the sensitive southern coast.

The recommendation was made to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who had made no final submission to Bush yet, the officials said.

Sensitivity

"There is sensitivity with the airplane down south," said one of the officials. "What they are talking about is a measured approach to give the Chinese a chance to come to grips with international law."

"At the end of the day, this is a diplomatic problem," said another official.

U.S. Ambassador to China Joseph Prueher, who played a central role in securing the release last week of the 24 U.S. crew members detained in China, told reporters in Beijing the meeting would begin at 3 pm local time.

Soon afterwards, an administration official told CNN that U.S. President George W. Bush has picked Clark Randt Jr., a Yale classmate and Hong Kong businessman, to succeed Prueher as ambassador.

Prueher was appointed by former President Clinton in 1999 and the Bush administration had previously made it known that he would be replaced.

A senior administration official said Bush had settled on Randt and a background check was under way. An official announcement is expected soon, this official said.

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U.S. Navy factfile: The EP-3
U.S. Dept of Defense
White House

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