[January 16, 2006] Japanese, Chinese parties agree on agriculture cooperation+ Tweet (Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BEIJING, Jan. 16_(Kyodo) _ Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Chinese Communist Party agreed Monday to pursue agricultural cooperation between the two countries, a step Japan hopes will help promote its farm exports to China, a Japanese lawmaker said. LDP legislator Toshikatsu Matsuoka said the party's two agricultural panels reached the agreement with the Communist Youth League of China in a meeting attended by him and Zhou Qiang, the Chinese group's first secretary. Under the plan, the two sides will promote cooperation in the field of agricultural goods, hold exchanges among workers in the area and pursue technical cooperation, Matsuoka said. Matsuoka said he hopes that the agreement will help promote Japan's agricultural exports to China. That includes the exports of rice, for which Japan has been trying to win Beijing's approval but has yet to do so, he said. "Japan's population is dwindling, and Japan's agriculture industry will suffer if it relies solely on the Japanese shrinking stomach," Matsuoka said. "It has to look at the outside world." China, on the other hand, appears keen to benefit from Japan's technology in the field, as well as its experiences over the past few decades, as its agricultural workers have moved to the cities rather than work in the fields, Matsuoka said. The meeting comes at a time when dealing with the gap between the rich in major cities and the poor in rural areas has become a significant issue in China. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]