China and the US are close to working out a face-saving deal that would allow Chen Guangcheng to leave China with his wife and children, a US-based rights campaigner
American officials have refused to confirm if Chen Guangcheng is in the embassy
News of the potential deal came as US diplomats scrambled to resolve a diplomatic crisis precipitated after the blind human rights activist escaped from house arrest and reportedly sought US diplomatic protection.
Bob Fu, of the Texas-based group ChinaAid which has been in contact with Mr Chen's supporters in China, said a deal was possible in the next 24-48 hours.
It is hoped the deal can be concluded before Hillary Clinton arrives in Beijing for the high-level US-China strategic and economic dialogue, which starts on Thursday.
"The Chinese top leaders are deliberating a faster solution and the decision could come soon," he said "It could mean today, tomorrow or after the dialogue but I certainly sense that both sides want to have a solution soon."
Mr Fu said that granting Mr Chen permission to travel to the US for medical treatment with his family was emerging as the most elegant and obvious way to avoid the Chen impasse from poisoning US-China relations at a critical moment.
Mr Chen, who had initially indicated he wanted to remain in China, had now accepted that it was unrealistic that this was possible given the high-profile nature of his case.
"If Chen wants to find safety and freedom for his family, leaving China might be the only option left. The situation is so intense, he has no other choice but to leave now," said Mr Fu, a former teacher at the Communist Party School, who fights for Christian rights in China.
"The US cannot afford to take Chen and ask him to leave his family behind – and Mr Chen won't leave without his wife and children. The Chinese have to make a decision to put the package together. Logistically they have to work this out, but the Chinese government can handle it."
The US State Department has refused to comment on the Chen case, and will not confirm or deny whether Mr Chen – whose case has been publicly raised in the past by Mrs Clinton – is in their safe custody.
On Monday the European Union called on China not to harass Chen's family and associates after reports that several fellow-activists, including those who aided his escape, have been taken into custody. His nephew Chen Kegui is said to be on the run from the authorities.
Mr Chen, a self-taught lawyer who was imprisoned after exposing the horrors of force-sterilisations under China's one-child policy, escaped on April 22 from his home in Shandong province after almost 20 months under house arrest during which time he says he was badly beaten.
He reportedly sought US protection last Thursday afternoon after releasing a video on YouTube challenging the country's prime minister Wen Jiabao to investigate his brutal treatment at the hands of the local authorities in Shandong.
His friend and fellow dissident Hu Jia told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that after being detained himself over the weekend by the Chinese security services, he is certain the 40-year-old has met with the US Ambassador Gary Locke.
"Judging by the questions the agents were asking me, I am positive Chen is in the US embassy," said Mr Hu, who was held for 24 hours. "They mainly asked me about how Chen managed to escape, how he got to Beijing and when and how he entered the US embassy and when he met Mr Locke." However it remains unclear whether Mr Chen is actually in the US Embassy compound in Beijing, or another location in the city where he can be afforded US protection.
Harry Wu, director of the Laogai Research Foundation in Washington who was referred to as the 'dean' of the Chinese dissident community in the US, said that according to his network in China Chen was not in the US Embassy.
"My sources tell me that he's not in the American embassy, but is being protected by individuals and not the US embassy," he told The Daily Telegraph, "I think there are many possibilities of what could happen to him. Maybe he can be killed, maybe he has flown away, maybe he's on a ship. It is not certain at the moment."
The only other dissident to have been allowed to shelter in the US embassy, the astrophysicist Fang Lizhi, was allowed to leave China on medical grounds, despite his role in the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.
Any deal is likely to include Mr Chen's wife and daughter who remain in the family home in Dongshigu in eastern Shandong Province, completely cut off from the outside world.
Barack Obama said he had seen the press reports on the Chen case, declined to comment. “I have read the press reports on the situation in China but I am not going to make a statement on the issue,” he said during a press conference with the Japanese prime minister.
A state department spokesperson refused to comment on the issue eight times during a daily briefing on foreign affairs.