China said yesterday that "all major issues" to allow for its entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had been resolved after 15 years of negotiations.
The country's chief WTO negotiator, Mr Long Yongtu, said substantial progress had been made at talks in Geneva aimed at wrapping up outstanding issues.
Mr Long said there were now texts on the table for every aspect of China's entry, although a "few brackets" remained. All the texts had to be consolidated by the WTO secretariat, he added.
The news emerged as Chinese and Japanese trade officials met in Beijing for the start of a two-day meeting aimed at resolving a crippling trade dispute.
A Chinese Foreign Trade ministry official said the two sides had "reached no conclusions" and would meet again today. If progress is being made the talks may be extended.
Both sides tried to sound positive at the outset of talks. "What is important today is that each side gets to debate thoroughly its point of view," the Japanese delegation head, Mr Tadakatsu Sano, said before yesterday's meeting.
"It's too early to say what we hope to take back, but I think that by the end of this we will at least understand each other quite well," he added. A Chinese spokeswoman said it hoped the negotiations would help to bring an end to the trade row.
The three-month tit-for-tat dispute centres on curbs placed on Chinese farm products by Japan and the subsequent imposition by China of tariffs on Japanese industrial exports.
Each side has accused the other of breaching WTO rules in a dispute that analysts say underscores the need to get China into the global trade body. With China outside the WTO, there is no independent referee to rule on which side is right.
China has said consistently it is up to Japan to settle the problem by lifting its high duties on imports of Chinese-grown shiitake mushrooms, spring onions and rushes for tatami mats imposed in April.
On June 22nd, China placed 100 per cent punitive tariffs on imports of Japanese motor vehicles, mobile phones and air conditioners.
The Japanese Trade Minister, Mr Takeo Hiranuma, said on Sunday Japan would not bow to China's demands to remove import curbs on three Chinese farm products.
It claims it imposed the temporary "safeguard" curbs under WTO rules, which precluded retaliation, to protect domestic industries from cheap imports.
Economists say the row belies deepening economic integration as Japanese industry moves ever more of its manufacturing operations to low-cost China. Diplomats say the two have made progress just by getting to the negotiating table.
