China and Japan to strengthen economic ties

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone announced that the two countries reached an accord to strengthen economic ties, AP reported. The officials said they had reached agreeements in a variety of areas, including intellectual property rights, trade, climate change and energy conservation. Nakasone separately met with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, to press for Chinese support for a UN Security Council resolution against North Korea after that country’s nuclear test. However, the talks did not include discussions on sensitive issues such as Japan’s and China’s competing claims to gas reserves in the East China Sea.