U.S.: Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng offered American fellowship Updated at 8:54 a.m. (AP) BEIJING - The U.S. and China forged the outlines of a deal Friday to end a diplomatic standoff over legal activist Chen Guangcheng, with Beijing saying he can apply to go abroad for study and Washington saying he has been offered an American fellowship. After three days of fraught, behind-the-scenes and emotional calls by Chen from a guarded hospital room, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said progress had been made in granting the activist's wish to take his family abroad. She said she was encouraged by a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement that said Chen may apply to leave the country. Chen has been offered a fellowship at an American university and may take his family, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, adding that the U.S. expects Beijing to quickly process their travel permits, after which U.S. visas would be granted. "Over the course of the day, progress has been made to help him have the future that he wants, and we will be staying in touch with him as this process moves forward," Clinton said speaking to reporters after two days of annual strategic talks in Beijing. Clinton cites progress in Chinese activist's case Gibbs: U.S. has "genuine concern" for Chen's safety Handling of Chen Guangcheng case generates political heat The quickly announced steps were positive signs that the governments were nearing a deal to end one of their most delicate diplomatic crises in years. A blind, self-taught lawyer and symbol in China's civil rights movement, Chen triggered the standoff after he escaped abusive house arrest in his rural town and sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing last week. He left six days later under a negotiated deal in which he and his family were to be reunited at a hospital and then safely relocated in China so he can formally study law. But he later upended the agreement by saying they wanted to go abroad. After arriving at Chaoyang Hospital on Wednesday for treatment of an injury, Chen said he had no further direct contact with U.S. officials for nearly two days, fueling a sense of abandonment and fears about the safety of him, his wife and two children. My situation right now is very dangerous," Chen said told The Associated Press earlier Friday. However, Clinton said that Ambassador Gary Locke spoke with Chen on Friday and that embassy staff and a doctor met him - further positive signs. "He confirms that he and his family now want to go to the United States so that he can pursue his studies," Clinton said. Chen could not immediately be reached for his response to the latest developments. His earlier pleas for U.S. sanctuary, delivered via conversations with The Associated Press, other foreign media and friends, have resonated around the world and even become part of Washington politics in a presidential election year. On Thursday, he called in to a congressional hearing in Washington, telling lawmakers he wanted to meet U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, who is in Beijing for annual security talks. The Foreign Ministry statement that said Chen was a normal citizen who may apply to study overseas. As a Chinese citizen, if he wants to study abroad he can go through the normal channels to the relevant departments and complete the formalities in accordance with the law like other Chinese citizens," the statement said without elaborating. While the statement only reiterates the normal rights of a Chinese citizen, it underscored the government's openness to letting him go and gives shape to a possible solution: He goes abroad with the approval of the Chinese government, not the U.S., giving Beijing a face-saving way out. Chen has a letter of invitation from New York University, according to Guo Yushan, a supporter who helped hide Chen in Beijing after his escape from house arrest, in a Twitter post early Friday. At a Foreign Ministry briefing, spokesman Liu Weimin also confirmed that Chen faces no pending criminal charges, indirectly acknowledging that the house arrest he and his family endured the past 20 months in their rural home was the retribution of local officials for Chen's activism. Chen has exposed forced abortions and other abuses in his community as part of China's population controls. According to Chinese laws, he is a regular citizen. He can absolutely go through regular formalities by normal means," Liu said. Obstacles remain. It isn't clear if Chen would have to return to his home province of Shandong to receive a passport, as is normal, and the statements do not mention his family. His wife was stopped in 2007 from traveling to the Philippines to pick up a humanitarian award for Chen while he was in prison.