American and Chinese negotiators have agreed on technical details for dismantling and shipping home a crippled US spy plane.

China has signalled it will release the US spy plane held since a collision with a fighter jet.

China and the United States are at odds over a proposed US missile shield, but initial talks on the issue were constructive, a US envoy said today.

China today protested at the resumption of US spy flights near its coast and said in retaliation it will not allow the release of the damaged surveillance plane it impounded after a mid-air collision.