China has made solemn representations and protested to the United States about a US military plane bumping into a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea and causing it to crash on Sunday, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Assistant Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong made the protest during a meeting with US Ambassador to China Joseph Prueher at Sunday night.

The Chinese side is very much concerned about the missing Chinese pilot from the crashed jet, and is busy searching for him.

Zhou noted that the Chinese people are demanding an explanation from the United States on the following questions: Why did the US military plane approach a place so close to China? Why did the US plane take a sudden turn, bump into and damage the Chinese jet?

Zhou reiterated that the US plane's intrusion into China's airspace and its emergency landing without permission from the Chinese side were gross violations of China's national sovereignty.

China reserves the right to further negotiate with the US side on both the losses resulting from the incident and the US plane's intrusion into China's airspace and its landing at a Chinese airport without permission, Zhou said.

According to the foreign ministry, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Yang Jiechi met with relevant officials from the US Department of State the same day and also made solemn representations and protests to the US side over the issue. Meanwhile, search and rescue efforts are underway for the missing pilot of the Chinese fighter, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sun Yuxi yesterday.

By 4:00 pm yesterday, 11 ships and over 20 planes had been sent by both the army and the local government to the site where the jet crashed, Sun said. However, after rigorous searching during the day and the night, the whereabouts of the pilot was still unknown.

Sun said that leaders of the Party, the government and the military are very much concerned about the safety of the pilot.

(Xinhua 04/03/2001)