The breakthrough, confirmed by the White House, came in the runup to the Easter weekend, following what Chinese state media portrayed as a letter of apology from Washington. China's demand for apology US diplomats say plane crew well Xinhua said that Tang delivered his message to US Ambassador Joseph Prueher, who handed him the letter.
China says the pilot is still missing.
Earlier, China's state-run media prepared the angry nation for a resolution which could be presented as the apology from the United States that Beijing had demanded. US officials complained key context had been edited out of the report, but a Western diplomat said that did not matter. The fact that they twisted his words a bit is not the point. Chinese media also appeared to be preparing the nation for an announcement of the death of fighter pilot Wang Wei. The search for him and the grief of his family has dominated front pages of newspapers and television news programs for days.