The prospect of an early end to the China-US impasse was raised last night by news that the two countries are working on a joint letter expressing a "common understanding" of the collision between the US spy plane and the Chinese fighter.
Significant progress on such a letter was reported by Senator John Warner, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who spoke to the press following a detailed briefing by State and Defence Department officials. That Mr Warner should speak so freely was certainly with permission of the White House and indicates an upbeat conviction there that the final hurdles in talks can be resolved quickly.
"We're moving toward a letter that will contain exchanges of views, first at the level of the ambassador and the foreign minister, but that letter is being reviewed both by our president and the president of China, so it will reflect a common understanding," he said.
But he ruled out an apology, still a central Chinese demand.
President Jiang Zemin, who is on an official visit to South America, said he wanted an apology. But yesterday his demand appeared to be couched in softer language. "I have visited a lot of countries and seen that it is normal for people to ask forgiveness or say `excuse me' when they collide in the street," Mr Jiang said. "But the American planes come to the border of our country and do not ask forgiveness. Is this behaviour acceptable?"
However, the Virginia Republican told reporters on Capitol Hill: "I would say that the question of an apology is not in any way to be incorporated in the letter. . . There will be established some type of meeting framework contemporaneous with the letter, and that framework will enable the experts, those who are most knowledgeable about aircraft and other matters, to sit down and assess the facts," he said. He declined to even discuss when the US crew may be released.
Earlier President Bush told an awards ceremony in Virginia: "We are working hard to bring them home through intensive discussions with the Chinese government. We think we're making progress."
Earlier yesterday a Chinese colleague who was flying in a separate plane on the same mission told China's official Xinhua news agency that the US spy plane had made a big move toward the missing pilot Wang Wei's jet before its propellers shredded the F-8's tail fin.
The Pentagon has said the larger US plane, loaded with sophisticated spy gear, was too ungainly to make that kind of movement and cause the crash.
Meanwhile China allowed a US official to meet for an hour the 21 men and three women detained on Hainan island. It was the second time a US official has been allowed to visit the crew, but the first without a Chinese official present and the Chinese have indicated that they will allow further such meetings on a regular basis.
The US defence attache to China, Mr Neal Sealock, told reporters in Haikou after the meeting the crew was in great spirits. The crew are being housed in officers' quarters and receiving catered food from outside.
In Washington an opinion poll for ABC and the Washington Post published yesterday shows strong support for Mr Bush's handling of the China impasse with 64 per cent saying he is doing well. But the public appears more divided over whether the US should apologise with 54 per cent saying they should and 40 per cent opposed.
The public appears unwilling to heap too much blame on the Chinese with 46 per cent saying they believe the incident was an accident, only 25 per cent saying the Chinese were responsible, and 5 per cent blaming the US.
Eighty three per cent say the delay in the release of the crew is a cause of concern, while 41 per cent say it is a cause of "alarm". Sixty one per cent oppose a cutback in US aerial surveillance.