Japan, China to launch body to protect intellectual property rights+

TOKYO, June 5 Kyodo - Japan and China have agreed to set up a consultative body to protect intellectual property rights in a deal that will be signed during a bilateral economic ministerial meeting Sunday in Tokyo, Japanese government sources said Thursday.

The two countries have also agreed to cooperate in assisting developing
countries in building infrastructure, the sources said.
The two will call for creating a legal framework and enforcing crackdowns to
curb violations of intellectual property rights such as fake brand products in
a document to be inked by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and
China's Commerce Ministry, they said.
Tokyo and Beijing will pledge to simplify channels of discussions on
intellectual property rights because talks on the issue involve several
ministries and agencies in both governments, they said.
On assistance for developing countries, the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation and the Export-Import Bank of China are considering extending loans
to joint ventures set up by Japanese and Chinese companies in the event that
they launch major infrastructure projects in developing countries, according to
the sources.
At the Japan-China high-level economic dialogue, Japan plans to press China to
abandon an envisaged compulsory certification system on information technology
products made by foreign companies, the sources said.
China has said it will introduce the system in May next year for public
procurement of foreign-made items such as computer security software. Japan,
the United States and Europe are concerned that the practice would allow
Beijing to obtain otherwise secret information about such products.
Along with intellectual property rights and infrastructure building in
developing countries, top economic officials from the two countries will
discuss ways to address the global economic crisis and boost bilateral
cooperation on energy saving and the environment.
They will also discuss climate change and trade and investment, according to
Japan's Foreign Ministry.
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone will represent Japan at the high-level
meeting, the second of its kind, following the first session in December 2007
in Beijing. The Chinese side will be led by Vice Premier Wang Qishan.
==Kyodo