[Colleen Mcedwards, Cnn Anchor:] Well, a flurry of diplomatic moves are unfolding in Beijing and Washington. And on China's Hainan Island, U.S. officials have met for a second time with the crew of the U.S. surveillance plane.
[Joseph Prueher, U.s. Ambassador To China:] The good news that we're going on right now is, in place is the meeting going on with the aircrew in Hainan Island in Haikou. It started late, but it started about an hour and 20 minutes late. But it's in progress right now. And our people are in contact with the aircrew. Another meeting is scheduled with them tomorrow. We are having meetings here with the appropriate Chinese authorities. We are in fairly intense talks that are going on. And we are all working it very hard and hoping to do it constructively. And I would like to say that it's quite well coordinated with our government in Washington. We are in close touch with them, with our leaders, the president and Secretary Powell and Deputy Secretary Armitage. And they are coordinating in Washington. And we are working in sync. Thank you very much.
[Mcedwards:] All right, for the very latest now, we turn to CNN's Beijing bureau chief Rebecca MacKinnon. She is joining us by phone from the Chinese capital. Rebecca, we are just hearing U.S. officials sounding optimistic, saying that things are well coordinated, going well, by their reading of it. What are Chinese officials saying?
[Rebecca Mackinnon, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Chinese officials have yet to comment publicly today. There has yet to even be an official reaction to President Bush's expression of regret for the loss of the Chinese pilot. But the Chinese media continues to actually to be ratcheting up the emotion on this issue, which is in great contrast to what I am told by diplomats to be very reasoned and pragmatic talks going on behind closed doors in the Foreign Ministry and elsewhere. In the public domain, we just saw a fairly emotional broadcast on Chinese state television. The pilot of the second plane came on as a witness. He reaffirmed the Chinese government's story that it was the U.S. plane that suddenly bumped into his colleague Wang Wei's plane and caused it to fall into the sea. And, also, we saw the weeping parents of Wang Wei in their hospital beds, talking about the first they realized something was wrong was when he didn't call them on Sunday as planned the grieving wife, the 6-year-old son reaction from the streets broadcast on television: angry citizens saying that the United States has no right to be coming so close to our territory. It appeared that a lot of the people interviewed on TV thought that the U.S. plane had entered into China's airspace before the collision happened. But a lot of angry statements about people saying things like, you know: "If a burglar goes into your home, why should you be expected to give this burglar safe haven and return their property?"
[Mcedwards:] Rebecca, is there any more talk about the actual plane, the reconnaissance plane? What are people saying about what the Chinese plan to do with it, and what, if anything, they have been able to glean from it?
[Mackinnon:] That is not clear. It appears I mean, diplomats are saying that they believe that the Chinese have certainly gone through the plane fairly thoroughly, taken equipment off of it. What they have gleaned from it is not clear at this point. What they plan to do with it, one is not really hearing. The priority of the American officials now remains the 24 men and women, who have not yet left China. And that is the focus at this time. One is hearing very little about the plane. At this point, it's the secondary priority in comparison with the livelihoods of these American citizens still being held on Hainan Island Colleen.
[Mcedwards:] All right, CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon in Beijing. And as Rebecca just mentioned, there has been quite a bit happening in the Chinese media today. Just about an hour ago, both English language and Chinese language broadcasts showed an interview with Zhao Yu, who is one of the Chinese fighter pilots who was involved in the tracking of the U.S. surveillance plane. And for the first time, people heard what he had to say about exactly what happened up there in the air. Let's listen to that now.
[Zhao Yu, Fighter Pilot:] On April 1, Wang Wei and I were on duty. At about 08:45 a.m., we took off to conduct our routine tracking mission in the airspace southeast of Hainan Island. Seven minutes after take off, we found a large plane to our left, 50 kilometers ahead of us. Wang Wei and I approached the plane and identified it as a U.S. EP-3 type surveillance plane. When the U.S. spy plane spotted us, it adjusted its navigation course. So we adjusted ours accordingly. At 09:05 a.m., the U.S. plane readjusted its course to 110 degrees. We readjusted ours once again so that we were flying at the same speed and the same direction as the U.S. spy plane. Our planes were on the inner side of Hainan and the U.S. plane was on the outer side. Two minutes later, the U.S. plane suddenly swerved at a wide angle toward our direction and collided over the plane Wang Wei was flying. I saw the nose and left wing of the U.S. plane bump into Wang Wei's plane. And the left outer propeller of the U.S. plane's left wing smashed the vertical tail surface of Wang Wei's plane.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Who do you think is responsible for this collision incident?
[Zhao Yu:] The U.S. side is fully responsible for this collision. It was directly caused by the collision of the U.S. plane veering at a wide angle toward our plane, making it impossible for our plane to avoid it. The U.S. plane severely violated flying rules, so they should hold full responsibility. It is our duty to identify any midair objects that would endanger our national security and to track them. As Wang Wei's comrade in arms on the same mission, I am especially worried for his safety. I hope our rescue efforts will bring him back to us. I am very grateful for the government's and the navy's concern over his safety. I am indignant at the actions of the U.S. spy plane crashing our plane right at our doorsteps.
[Mcedwards:] All right. That's the Chinese fighter pilot who was involved in this, placing the blame squarely on the U.S. crew, saying that the cause of the accident was that U.S. plane veering into Wang Wei's plane. He is the pilot who is missing and presumed dead in this accident Carol.
[Lin:] Well, Colleen, let's check in with the White House on this standoff. President Bush says his administration is working all diplomatic channels to end it. White House correspondent Major Garrett has the view from the North Lawn. Major, who are they talking to and do you know what's being said?
[Major Garrett, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, good morning, Carol. "Intense diplomacy" going on that is a phrase we have heard throughout the week, but it really does matter on a day like today a senior White House official telling CNN this morning, in reaction to news that a second meeting is occurring on Hainan Island between U.S. officials and the 24 members of the surveillance plane being held there since Sunday, considering that a very positive step. Let me quote that senior administration official directly: "The fact that the meeting is taking place is a sign things are moving forward." When asked just how much farther forward they are moving, the administration official did not want to say: "We're right in the middle of the meeting right now. Let's wait until that meeting is done and we know the facts before deciding exactly how positive a step is going on," that administration official telling CNN. But, clearly, diplomacy is happening on several fronts. And administration officials are encouraged that that diplomacy is occurring at very high levels. Earlier this week, when U.S. officials were trying to obtain contact with senior Chinese officials, they were rebuffed. Now those channels of communication are wide open. And White House officials consider that yet another positive development.
[Lin:] Major, in the early days of this standoff, we heard a lot of demands out of the White House, very specifically: We want our crew back right away. We want our plane back. That is U.S. property, sovereign territory. While these talks are going on, do you expect the language to be changing out of the White House, or even that we might not be hearing very much at all?
[Garrett:] Well, the language doesn't change, Carol, but what the the emphasis does or the order of priority does. Yesterday, the president, amplifying the comments of his secretary of state, said that he regretted the loss or the apparent loss of the Chinese fighter pilot's life. That expression of regret took precedence over earlier statements. Now, the President didn't change his underlying bottom line, which is: The crew needs to be returned, as does the plane. But this is all a matter of emphasis and placing priority over certain elements of presidential rhetoric. And, yesterday, the president's expression of regret by far became the most important thing the president said. It was the headline, not only here, but in China. And the administration believes it is now beginning to reap the fruits of that expression of regret at a presidential level. They do see, very much, that this progress on Hainan Island the second meeting, and the announcement of a third meeting, and continuing high level dialogue with Chinese officials is, in part, a reaction to that expression of presidential regret.
[Lin:] Thank you very much, Major Garrett, live at the White House. Well, the Pentagon says it is encouraged that U.S. diplomats have been able to see the crew once again. And another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow. And a spokesman gave new details on a possible joint U.S.-Chinese investigation into that incident. CNN national correspondent Eileen O'Connor has that side of the story from the Pentagon this morning Eileen.
[Eileen O'connor, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, good morning Carol. Pentagon officials say that a likely scenario a likely mechanism that can be used for a joint U.S.-Chinese investigation of the accident would be this maritime consultation group that was actually established by an agreement that was signed by then Secretary of Defense William Cohen in 1998. And it is a working group that meets on a regular basis. In fact, there's a meeting scheduled for later this year. Also, this agreement allows for special meetings that can be mutually agreed upon. Now, the advantage of this, according to Admiral Craig Quigley, who is the Pentagon spokesman, is that the parameters the diplomatic guidelines, if you will have already been established. So that saves valuable time, because the ultimate goal here, Carol, is getting that crew back safely and very quickly. And, by the way, on that note, you know, with this meeting having taken place and going on so long, that is very encouraging to Pentagon officials. Primarily, they want to know from this crew how they are and: Are they being held safely? Have they been interrogated? And how were the conditions, if they were interrogated, of that questioning? But, also, they want to find out what happened during this accident. They're not reacting to those statements by the Chinese fighter pilot, because they want to hear from their crew what their version of events was Carol.
[Lin:] So, Eileen, on this joint maritime committee, the Chinese would be represented on this committee as well, right?
[O'connor:] Well, you know, Carol, I wasn't actually able to hear your question. What was that again?
[Lin:] Oh, that the Chinese would be represented on this on this maritime committee that would be responsible for hopefully negotiating an end to this standoff.
[O'connor:] Yes, they are represented. This is a joint maritime working group. There's delegations from both sides. And they come together on regular meetings. And they also, according to this agreement, can have special meetings that are mutually agreed upon. So there could be some additional delegates that the two sides could agree to send in this particular incident Carol.
[Lin:] All right, thank you very much, Eileen O'Connor, reporting live from the Pentagon Colleen.
[Mcedwards:] All right, Carol. Well the U.S. position on the incident is drawing heavy criticism in China. In an editorial today, the newspaper "China Daily" said: "The American government's ignorance of China's demand for an apology has testified to their arrogance in handling international affairs. In Washington's eyes, power is everything. And the country with the most power can do whatever it likes." And then it continues: "Washington officials never did any serious soul searching as to why the incident happened and how it could have been avoided. If the United States had not conducted frequent spy missions near Chinese airspace, the collision would never have happened." TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com