China said today the long-simmering row over the crippled US spy plane held on Hainan Island was over after the two sides agreed on how it should be dismantled and shipped out.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mr Sun Yuxi said Beijing now hoped relations with Washington, beset by a series of disputes since the new administration of President George W Bush took office in January, would get back on track.
"China and the United States have basically solved the matter of the plane, both the crew and the aircraft," he said. "We hope bilateral relations can come back to the normal track."
It is three months since the US EP-3 spy plane was forced to land on Hainan after a collision with a Chinese fighter, and the 24 crew members were held for 11 days.