A senior Chinese official sought today to explain China's decision not to allow the United States to fly home its damaged surveillance plane, which is stranded on Hainan island. The official said such a move would arouse "strong indignation and opposition in the Chinese population."
The official, Deputy Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, said in an interview, "If we allow such a military plane, which had a mission of spying on China, to be flown back out of China, that will further hurt the dignity and sentiments of the Chinese people."
Mr. Li said his government was open to alternatives for removing the plane such as putting it on a ship. He said he hoped that the United States would take a "diplomatic and reasonable" attitude in the negotiations, which are continuing.
Beijing, Mr. Li said, was surprised that the United States had resumed surveillance flights off the China coast. But he did not say that the resumption would hamper the talks on returning the plane.
"We hope that the two countries will properly handle the incident without letting it further damage relations," Mr. Li said.
The government has kept a close eye on public opinion throughout its handling of the surveillance plane incident. It released the 24 crew members only after an extensive search for the pilot of the Chinese Air Force F-8 fighter, which sank after it collided with the Navy's EP-3E.
And it turned the fallen pilot, Wang Wei, into a national icon, memorializing him in relentless news coverage.
Mr. Li said feelings remained raw among Chinese about Mr. Wang's death and the fact that the United States conducts surveillance missions close to its coastal waters. But on the streets of Chinese cities, overt signs of anger toward the American government have largely dissipated.
The tension between the United States and China has scarcely been felt at a business conference here held by AOL Time Warner. President Jiang Zemin, who addressed the meeting on Tuesday, did not mention the plane, Washington's decision to sell arms to Taiwan or any other contentious issues.
This morning, before he returned to Beijing, Mr. Jiang held a 70- minute meeting with former President Bill Clinton, who is at the conference as a paid speaker. Mr. Clinton said in an interview afterward that he and Mr. Jiang had discussed a wide range of issues, including the tension between Washington and Beijing.
"I told him I was convinced that the Bush administration was interested in having good relations with China," Mr. Clinton said. "I also told him to remember that when we first came into office that we had some tough times, as well."
Mr. Clinton spoke to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell over the weekend about China. But he declined to say whether he had conveyed any messages from the White House. He said he would brief General Powell after he had returned to the United States -- HONG KONG (Reuters)
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