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No early end in sight to diplomatic stand-off between China and Americ

American consular officials in southern China are still no closer to securing regular access to the crew of a
U-S spy plane.

As China correspondent Tom O'Byrne reports, mixed signals about a solution to the stand-off continue to emanate from Washington and Beijing:

In Washington overnight, key members of the Bush cabinet were stating that no apology would be forthcoming from the American side. Vice-president Dick Cheney and the Defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, both backed the presidential line, in defiance of the demand from China's president Jiang Zemin. If anything, the tone from Beijing has hardened in recent days, with calls for an apology now coming from the influential vice-premier Qian Qichen and the Defence Minister Chi Haotian. Diplomats on both sides meanwhile, are talking up the prospect of a settlement via a joint communique,that if agreed to by both presidents, might see the 24 crew leaving China in the next few days.

9/04/01 17:27:00 | ABC Radio Australia News

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