China and the United States have struck a deal on the return of a
grounded and damaged US spy plane stranded on a Chinese island. This apparently signals the end to a bitter wrangle that severely strained relations between the two nations, US and Chinese officials have said.
Under the agreement the US Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane, which made an emergency landing on Hainan on April 1st after a collision with a Chinese fighter jet, would be flown out in pieces aboard a giant Russian-designed Antonov-124 cargo plane.
"The two sides have agreed in principle that an AN-124 aircraft can be used to return the EP-3 aircraft from Lingshui airfield," said a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Details of the operation remain under discussion."
In China the official Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao as confirming an agreement had been reached to "take home the EP-3 in parts."