China has proclaimed Wang Wei, the Chinese fighter pilot killed in a collision with a US spy plane a "revolutionary martyr".
Beijing also denounced Washington's version of events, setting the stage for tense follow-up talks on Wednesday.
The Chinese navy paid tribute to what it called Wang's "glorious sacrifice" in the April 1st incident, which sparked a Sino-American standoff during which the China detained the spy plane's crew for 11 days.
Wednesday's talks, part of a deal which helped defuse the standoff, are likely to focus on what will happen to the crippled spy plane, which is still on China's Hainan island where it made an emergency landing.
Following the return home of 24 American crew members of the grounded Navy EP-3E spy plane, Washington has taken a tougher line with China, asserting that the Chinese fighter was to blame for the collision over the South China Sea.
"The US blames the victim," the popular Beijing Youth Dailytrumpeted in banner headlines today. It also reported that the authorities had ended a massive search for the pilot yesterday.
The top US priority will be to get its $80 million EP-3 back, despite the widespread assumption that Chinese technicians have had a thorough look at the sophisticated equipment the crew tried to destroy before the emergency landing.
A Newsweekmagazine survey showed little support among Americans for blocking Chinese entry to the World Trade Organisation or opposing China's bid to host the 2008 Olympics - moves that had been discussed during the standoff.
Only 22 per cent of those questioned said they expected long-term damage to Sino-US relations. Fifty-one per cent said they expected short-term damage, 21 per cent expected no damage.