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SCMP Reporter

A US congressional delegation will meet Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa tomorrow, despite the deadlock between Beijing and Washington over the American spy plane stranded on Hainan Island.

Political analysts believed the visit was a sign the affair had not significantly soured Sino-US ties.

The delegation, led by Representative David Dreier, will arrive in the SAR today for a three-day visit.

It will be the first US delegation to visit the SAR since the spy plane was forced to land at a base on Hainan and 24 crew members were detained after the collision with a Chinese F-8 fighter over the South China Sea on April 1.

A spokesman for the Chief Executive's Office said Mr Tung would brief the delegation on developments in the SAR, but did not say if the plane saga would be mentioned.

A spokesman for the US Consulate-General gave no details on members of the delegation or whether they would visit the mainland. He also declined to say if the stand-off would be discussed.

'The delegation is here to see for themselves the impact of technological revolution on Asia. They are to focus on Internet, e-commerce and telecom policy in Hong Kong,' the spokesman said.

He confirmed the delegation had been given approval from Beijing before flying to Hong Kong in a state aircraft.

The Basic Law says the central Government is responsible for the SAR's defence and foreign affairs. Warships have to seek Beijing's approval before entering Hong Kong's waters.

Joseph Cheng Yu-shek, a professor of political science at City University, said Beijing's approval for the visit showed relations had not deteriorated greatly.

'They don't want the incident to stop exchanges. They are therefore demonstrating that exchanges can go on despite the incident,' he said.

Professor Cheng said the situation was different to that after Nato's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May 1999.

'China is apparently in a favourable situation this time. They have both the crew members and the spy plane in hand. China just wants to back down with good grace,' he said.

Professor Lau Siu-kai, of the Chinese University, said the mainland had learned the influence of the US Congress.

'The mainland is now keen on fighting for public support in order to influence US policy on China. In this sense, Beijing will welcome the congressmen's visit,' he said.

Professor Lau said Mr Tung would probably not raise the crash saga with the delegation. 'Why would he meddle in the dispute? He would only turn a friendly visit into a political debate if he talked about that.'



US delegates' trip 'suggests stand-off damage contained'