A team of American technicians left China todayafter completing an inspection of the crippled US Navy spy plane which collided with a Chinese fighter last month, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
It said there would be more discussions on the fate of the EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft, but gave no further details.
A Pentagon official said yesterday the plane, despite the damage caused by the collision on April Fools Day that sparked an 11-day diplomatic standoff, could be flown out of China.
US Defence officials say, however, China had indicated it did not want the EP-3 flown off Hainan Island, where it made an emergency landing after the collision. One alternative would be to take the aircraft apart for shipment by boat.