Rebecca MacKinnon: Little progress in U.S.-China talks

Negotiator Peter Verga says the latest China-U.S. negotiations have been 'very productive'

Rebecca MacKinnon is CNN's Beijing bureau chief and correspondent responsible for the network's news coverage of China.

Q: What was on the agenda for the talks between the U.S. and China, and was any progress made on these issues?

MacKinnon: It appears that the only progress that was made in these two days of talks here in Beijing this week, was that the two sides agreed that they would hold further talks at a later date, they haven't given up hope. Other than that, there was very little agreement, and both sides even portrayed the agenda quite differently, China saying that the agenda was focused around the Chinese demand to halt all U.S. surveillance flights near China's coast and finding a way to prevent these incidents from happening again, the U.S. placing prominently on its agenda the return of the EP-3 spy plane from China to the United States. In fact, the talks nearly broke down completely over this issue after the first session on Wednesday. The U.S. indicated it would not hold another round of talks unless the Chinese agreed to constructively discuss the return of the EP-3 spy plane. It appears that the Chinese did discuss it, but in public, the foreign ministry would not even admit to having discussed the issue of returning the plane, let alone indicate whether China actually intends to give it back.

MESSAGE BOARD China-U.S. relations     AUDIO Rebecca MacKinnon on the agenda, the mood, and the officials involved in the talks 715KB/1:06 mins. AIFF or WAV sound    VIDEO Wednesday's meeting and the atmosphere surrounding it is described by CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) 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)     ALSO U.S. China resolution shelved by U.N. 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) China made its own animation showing their version of the incident 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

Q: Is there any indication that either side plans any concessions to reach a solution?

MacKinnon: If either side is planning on making concessions, neither side is giving away that intention at this point. The Chinese continue to demand that the U.S. halt all surveillance flights, the U.S. side has said, however, that it may resume those flights as early as sometime later this week. The Chinese side has not specifically indicated what it will do if this happens, except to repeat its demand that the flights halt, and to say that the United States will be held responsible for any further deterioration in the relationship, and that it is the U.S. that should be held responsible for repairing the damage done to the relationship so far.

Q: Both the U.S. and China have made accusations about where the blame lies for the plane incident. Did these accusations carry over to affect the mood of both parties involved?

MacKinnon: It certainly seemed to affect the mood. When The Pentagon released video earlier this week and last week of what it said was reckless behavior by the Chinese fighter pilot, Wang Wei, there seemed to be a certain amount of anger and indignation over the fact that the Chinese would not accept what the United States considers to be the truth about the collision. The Chinese side also displayed a great deal of anger that the U.S. has sullied the honor of China's fighter pilot, Wang Wei, who is now assumed to be dead in the South China Sea, a man who has been declared a "revolutionary martyr." The Chinese feel that he was only doing his job, that he was defending Chinese territory, trying to keep U.S. surveillance flights away from the border with Chinese air space, and he had done nothing wrong. There is a great deal of indignation here about the fact that the United States finds it necessary to send so many reconnaissance flights to the area around China's borders.

Q: When is the next set of talks expected to take place?

MacKinnon: There has been no indication at this point when the next set of talks will take place. It appears they will definitely not be here in Beijing this week. The two sides have said they will remain in contact through diplomatic channels, but there is no indication how long it is going to take to get another round of talks. Diplomats who are familiar with the negotiations have privately indicated that they expect there may be some time allowed to pass before the two sides try to meet again to enable tempers to calm down a little bit, to enable this issue to get a bit further out of the public eye and away from public attention for a while, and then try and have negotiatiors talk in a less high profile and calmer manner.

No breakthroughs in U.S.-China spy plane talks
April 19, 2001
U.S., China resume talks
April 18, 2001
U.S.-China talks may set tone for future ties
April 17, 2001
Diplomatic obstacles expected at U.S.-China talks
April 16, 2001
FBI probes pro-China attacks on U.S. Web sites
April 16, 2001
U.S. pilot harbors anger toward Chinese pilot
April 16, 2001
Business holds little fear for U.S.-China sanctions
April 16, 2001
China honors missing pilot a 'revolutionary martyr'
April 16, 2001
Diplomatic obstacles expected at U.S.-China talks
April 16, 2001
Congress considers China sanctions
April 15, 2001
Chinese pilot 'harassed' U.S. crew
April 13, 2001
Careful language breaks Washington-Beijing impasse
April 11, 2001

U.S. Navy factfile: The EP-3
U.S. Dept of Defense
White House
Government Information Office, Republic of China
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.