ID :
183657
Sun, 05/22/2011 - 15:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183657
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China OKs partial easing of controls on farm imports from Japan
TOKYO, May 22 Kyodo -
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Sunday the country will partially ease restrictions on imports of Japan-made agricultural and food products provided Tokyo ensures the safety of the products from radioactive leaks from a Fukushima Prefecture nuclear power plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Wen told Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan during a meeting in Tokyo that China will lift the import ban on farm and food products from Yamagata and Yamanashi prefectures, cutting to 10 the number of prefectures subject to such a ban, Japanese officials said.
Wen also agreed that China will no longer require food products, excluding dairy and fishery products and vegetables, from other prefectures to be accompanied by radiation inspection certificates issued by the Japanese government, the officials said.
At present, China effectively blocks imports of almost all food and farm produce from Japan, with Chinese authorities not satisfied with certificates currently issued by the country to indicate radiation levels and place of origin.
With the change in China's requirement of radiation inspection certifications, Japan expects the shipments of food and agricultural products other than vegetables, dairy and fishery products to be designated by Beijing will start to be accepted, according to the officials.
The premier urged Tokyo to continue to provide information swiftly on the Fukushima nuclear crisis, as he urged Kan to ''understand the interests and worries of a neighbor,'' according to the officials.
Japan's decision in April to discharge low-level radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the troubled plant drew criticism from neighboring countries, as it failed to fully notify them beforehand.
As part of efforts to bring back Chinese tourists to Japan, Wen told Kan that Beijing will send a 100-member tourism mission to Japan from May 30 to June 4, they said.
To rejuvenate bilateral personnel exchanges, Wen said China will invite 500 Japanese students from areas hit by the disasters.
The two also agreed that government officials and private-sector representatives will discuss cooperation to help the reconstruction process of Japan on the sidelines of a bilateral high-level economic dialogue to be held in Tokyo this summer.
Wen briefed Kan about the ongoing visit to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, according to a Japanese official, who declined to offer details at the request of the Chinese government.
Neither North Korea nor China has made any announcement on Kim's trip aboard a special train, his third visit in little more than a year to China, the North's traditional ally.
Kan asked Wen that Beijing play a greater role in prodding Pyongyang to hold talks with South Korea, commit to denuclearization and address the issue of the North's past abduction of Japanese nationals, the Japanese official said.
Kan said North Korea's uranium enrichment activity is in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a 2005 joint statement issued by six countries involved in talks on the North's nuclear programs.
Kan told Wen he will visit China at an ''appropriate time this year,'' according to the official.
Later in the day, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi separately held talks and stated their basic positions on the disputed islands in the East China Sea, the officials said.
Bilateral relations sharply deteriorated following maritime collisions near the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands last September. The islands claimed by China are called the Diaoyu in the country.
The two ministers talked about establishing a mechanism to avert crises in the sea involving maritime safety authorities. Wen pushed that idea during his meeting with Kan, according to the officials.
Matsumoto also told Yang that Japan will invite about 50 young Chinese officials in charge of disaster management as part of people-to-people exchanges, they said.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Sunday the country will partially ease restrictions on imports of Japan-made agricultural and food products provided Tokyo ensures the safety of the products from radioactive leaks from a Fukushima Prefecture nuclear power plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Wen told Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan during a meeting in Tokyo that China will lift the import ban on farm and food products from Yamagata and Yamanashi prefectures, cutting to 10 the number of prefectures subject to such a ban, Japanese officials said.
Wen also agreed that China will no longer require food products, excluding dairy and fishery products and vegetables, from other prefectures to be accompanied by radiation inspection certificates issued by the Japanese government, the officials said.
At present, China effectively blocks imports of almost all food and farm produce from Japan, with Chinese authorities not satisfied with certificates currently issued by the country to indicate radiation levels and place of origin.
With the change in China's requirement of radiation inspection certifications, Japan expects the shipments of food and agricultural products other than vegetables, dairy and fishery products to be designated by Beijing will start to be accepted, according to the officials.
The premier urged Tokyo to continue to provide information swiftly on the Fukushima nuclear crisis, as he urged Kan to ''understand the interests and worries of a neighbor,'' according to the officials.
Japan's decision in April to discharge low-level radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the troubled plant drew criticism from neighboring countries, as it failed to fully notify them beforehand.
As part of efforts to bring back Chinese tourists to Japan, Wen told Kan that Beijing will send a 100-member tourism mission to Japan from May 30 to June 4, they said.
To rejuvenate bilateral personnel exchanges, Wen said China will invite 500 Japanese students from areas hit by the disasters.
The two also agreed that government officials and private-sector representatives will discuss cooperation to help the reconstruction process of Japan on the sidelines of a bilateral high-level economic dialogue to be held in Tokyo this summer.
Wen briefed Kan about the ongoing visit to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, according to a Japanese official, who declined to offer details at the request of the Chinese government.
Neither North Korea nor China has made any announcement on Kim's trip aboard a special train, his third visit in little more than a year to China, the North's traditional ally.
Kan asked Wen that Beijing play a greater role in prodding Pyongyang to hold talks with South Korea, commit to denuclearization and address the issue of the North's past abduction of Japanese nationals, the Japanese official said.
Kan said North Korea's uranium enrichment activity is in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a 2005 joint statement issued by six countries involved in talks on the North's nuclear programs.
Kan told Wen he will visit China at an ''appropriate time this year,'' according to the official.
Later in the day, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi separately held talks and stated their basic positions on the disputed islands in the East China Sea, the officials said.
Bilateral relations sharply deteriorated following maritime collisions near the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands last September. The islands claimed by China are called the Diaoyu in the country.
The two ministers talked about establishing a mechanism to avert crises in the sea involving maritime safety authorities. Wen pushed that idea during his meeting with Kan, according to the officials.
Matsumoto also told Yang that Japan will invite about 50 young Chinese officials in charge of disaster management as part of people-to-people exchanges, they said.
