Chinese President Jiang Zemin, upon leaving Montevideo on April 11 after a state visit to Uruguay, said as China has received a letter from the United States expressing "very sorry," the Chinese government decided to allow the crew members leave China out of humanitarian considerations.
While affirming the collision incident has not ended yet, Jiang said he hoped the US side could take seriously the solemn position of the Chinese side and properly handle the incident.
Jiang said that he has reiterated time and again that developing Sino-US relations confirms to the common interests of the two nations, and is of vital importance to peace and prosperity in Asia-Pacific and the world.
The president noted that the development of Sino-US relations must be based on the three Sino-US joint communiques and the basic norms governing international relations.
"Only this help can properly settle issues between the two nations," Jiang said.
(Chinadaily.com.cn 04/11/2001)
