Talks between China and the US on their spy plane dispute are set to start today in Beijing.
It was the first time either side has announced a time for the start of a meeting very likely to feature blunt talk as each blames the other for the April 1st mid-air collision between a US spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter.
The collision forced the surveillance plane to make an emergency landing on China's Hainan Island, where it remains. Washington wants it returned.
Washington says the spy plane talks are likely to set the tone of a relationship already fraught with tension.