China said on Thursday the long-simmering row over a crippled US spy plane held on Hainan Island was basically over after the two sides agreed on how it should be dismantled and shipped out.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sun Yuxi said that China now hoped that relations with Washington, beset by the plane collision incident and other disputes since the new administration of President George W. Bush took office in January, would now get back on track.

"China and the United States have basically solved the matter of the plane, both the crew and the aircraft," he said.

"Yesterday, both sides reached an agreement on the technical issues and now both sides are preparing for the disassembly and transportation of the plane," Sun told a news conference.

"We hope bilateral relations can come back to the normal track," he added, three months after the US EP-3 spy plane was forced to land on a military airport in Hainan Island after a collision with a Chinese fighter.

Sun also disclosed that a US technical team has flown to Haian Island to prepare for the actual work of dismantling the stranded EP-3.

(chinadaily.com.cn 06/07/2001)