US President George W Bush has warned that Chinese-US relations could be damaged if China continued to hold the 24 crew members of a US Navy spy plane. The American plane had to land in southern China after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet eight days ago. Mr Bush said that negotiations were continuing, but his remarks are seen as a sign of growing American exasperation. The White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, repeated today that the United States had no intention of giving in to Chinese demands for an apology for the mid-air collision.
President Bush has written a letter to the widow of the Chinese pilot killed in the mid-air collision. The woman wrote a letter to Mr Bush last week, in which she described him as a "coward". The Bush administration said that the President was simply responding to an expression of grief and described the letter as a humanitarian gesture. The stand-off between China and the United States over the American spy plane is entering its second week. In another development, US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has now expressed sorrow over the death of the Chinese pilot.
This is believed to be a stronger form of words than the previous expression of regret. The US, however, remains adamant that it will not apologise. Vice President, Dick Cheney, said that the notion that the US should apologise for being in international air space is not acceptable. The National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, has again warned that the longer the 24 military personnel are held, the more damage will be done to Sino-US relations. There is no indication yet from China if these latest moves will help bring the stand-off to an end.
