A letter under review by President George W. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
The letter, currently in draft form, would express regrets for the collision last Sunday between the plane and a Chinese jet fighter and arrange for the two sides to exchange their views of the incident.
It also would clear the way for release of the 24 crew members of the Navy EP-3E Aries II reconnaissance plane.
The likeliest arrangement for a resolution is to have the two sides make their cases about the collision of the US plane and a Chinese fighter jet at a special meeting of a joint maritime commission set up three years ago to enhance safety on the seas, a senior US official said.
However, a letter released yesterday by Beijing appeared to dampen hopes for a quick release of the detained Americans, saying that expressions of regret from Washington are not enough.
"The American statements so far are still unacceptable to the Chinese side.
The Chinese people are extremely dissatisfied with this," said the letter from Vice Premier Qian Qichen (
The US must "apologize to the Chinese people," he said.
"This is the key issue to solving the problem," he added.
The crew met Friday with Brigadier General Neal Sealock, the defense attache at the US Embassy in Beijing, on the Chinese island of Hainan, where their plane made an emergency landing Sunday.
It was their second meeting, and another was expected yesterday.
The formula for a possible way out of the impasse was disclosed on Friday by senior US officials. Senator John Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, later revealed the draft letter's contents.
After receiving a Pentagon briefing, Warner said the letter's language would provide a "common understanding" by the two presidents of the episode.
The Bush administration showed rising optimism that it would be able to unravel its first major diplomatic tangle.
The president said negotiations with China had achieved progress, and he and Powell said the crew members were being treated well by the Chinese.
"We're working hard to bring them home through intensive discussions with the Chinese government, and we think we're making progress," Bush said.
The letter, Warner said, was being upgraded from the ambassador and foreign minister level to review "both by our president and the president of China, so it will reflect a common understanding.''
He said there would be no US apology in the letter.
"I believe the ambassador, and others, expressed regret for loss of life. That will be embraced in the letter," he said.
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