The Chinese and U.S. sides have recently held several rounds of consultations on the U.S. EP-3 reconnaissance plane in Beijing.

The Chinese side has reiterated its principled position on the incident in which the U.S. plane rammed into and destroyed a Chinese plane.

The U.S. side has agreed to consider making a payment to the Chinese side. The two sides will conduct another round of negotiations on the specific amount of the U.S. payment and the items to be covered.

The two sides have also agreed to discuss ways of avoiding similar incidents in the future through enhanced consultation mechanism on military maritime safety.

Having completed its investigation and evidence collection involving the U.S. plane and in view of international precedents in handling such issues, the Chinese side has decided to allow the U.S. side to inspect its plane at the Lingshui Airport.

The two sides will continue their discussions for the final settlement of the issue concerning the U.S. reconnaissance plane.