Japan, China Ministers Agree to Boost Bilateral Trade

Beijing, Nov. 8 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese and Chinese trade ministers agreed Saturday on the importance of further strengthening bilateral trade and investment. The agreement came at a meeting between Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi Miyazawa and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, Miyazawa told reporters. The meeting was the first bilateral talks between Japanese and Chinese cabinet ministers held on the sidelines of a two-day ministerial conference of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Miyazawa and Gao also agreed to speed up negotiations on the World Trade Organization's information technology agreement in order to remove tariffs on digital equipment. After the meeting, Miyazawa said he had constructive discussions with Gao. The meeting was a good step toward a summit meeting between the two countries, he said. END