Few Beijingers believe US envoy Thomas Pickering will deliver the truth when he offers an explanation of why Nato bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during the air assault on Yugoslavia.
'It is impossible that the explanation will satisfy China's demands,' said Zhang Zhongyun, a professor of international politics at the Central Party School.
'If they say it was intentional, the true story will be top secret and the US cannot divulge it. So it will, instead, find an excuse to palm us off. If they say it was a mistake, they should punish the person responsible.' Professor Zhang said he did not believe the bombing was a mistake.
Under-Secretary of State Mr Pickering is due to arrive in Beijing tonight with a team of US officials to give an account to Chinese leaders of what Nato said was an accidental bombing of the embassy in Belgrade on May 7. Three mainland journalists died in the attack.
China demanded a public apology from the US, a thorough investigation, publication of the results and severe punishment of those responsible.
Gao Heng, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' World Economic and Political Research Institute, saw the four demands as a test of Washington's sincerity. 'If the US comes up with a reasonable explanation, it is not impossible for the Chinese people to accept it as a mistake,' he said.