• Register Email Updates

• Advanced Search
• Help

On the Afternoon Plenary Session
of the Ministerial Meeting and
on the Japan-People's Republic
of China Foreign Ministers' Meeting

1. Introduction of speaker and briefing status
2. Opening statement
3. Japan's objections to fish and forestry as A+ sectors
4. Membership of Russia
5. Bilateral discussions between Japan and China

1. Introduction of speaker and briefing status

   Official of the International Press Division: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We are now going to start the briefing on the Ministerial Meeting of this afternoon. The briefer is Mr. Hiroshi Hashimoto, Spokesman for the Prime Minister of Japan and the Japanese Delegation.

2. Opening statement

   Spokesman for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: You have already read the Ministers' Statement, so I will not go through the discussion held in the afternoon. Very quickly, I would like to state how the Japanese Delegation considers the outcome of the Ministerial Meeting. Japan believes that the outcome of this meeting is significant because the Ministers agreed on steady implementation and improvement of the liberalization plan and on early voluntary sectoral liberalization, despite the decreased pace of economic growth and currency instability in some countries and regions in the APEC region. Moreover, the ministers reconfirmed the importance of mutual economic and technical cooperation in order to develop the infrastructure and to better enjoy the benefits of liberalization. Additionally, it is significant for the future of APEC that the Ministers discussed in concrete terms the potential new membership of the Russian Federation. There was a meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen of the People's Republic of China. The meeting itself lasted for 30 minutes or so. They exchanged views about the bilateral relationship, notably the highest level exchange between the two countries. At the same time, they exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula. If you are interested in the content of the meeting later, I am ready answer any questions. Having said so, if you have any questions concerning the afternoon sessions or the bilateral meeting between Japan and China, I am delighted to respond to any questions.

3. Japan's objections to fish and forestry as A+ sectors

   Q: The other day when you had a press conference, you identified seven sectors. This morning, Minister Marchi announced nine sectors, including fishery and forestry, which you did not mention. What exactly are Japan's objections and what exactly is Japan prepared to come to the table with next June?

   A: The Japanese delegation did not object to the identification of several sectors as an A+ list. Since the beginning of the press briefing, I have kept telling you that there are certain sensitive sectors for Japan, notably fish products, forestry, etc. Having said so, Japan appreciates that the liberalization sectors, as well as the promotion of comprehensive liberalization on the basis of the Action Plans, were agreed upon. We are very happy about how the Canadian Chair conducted the meetings. And if you talk about early voluntary sectoral liberalization, Japan is particularly pleased that the sectors such as environmental goods and services, medical equipment, and Telecommunications MRA, which Japan and other members jointly proposed or have strongly supported have been identified among the most prioritized sectors, in the A+ list. Japan admits that the sectors identified this time include some extremely difficult ones for Japan, such as fishery, forestry products, toys and jewelry. We clearly understand that the APEC members share a clear understanding that the work of early liberalization should be carried out under the principle of voluntarism. With this in mind, Japan joins the work of early liberalization. It is a bit too early for us to tell you how Japan will conduct the early voluntary sectoral liberalization. Japan will study what measures can be taken, including facilitation of trade and investment, as well as economic and technical cooperation.

4. Membership of Russia

   Q: Did you mention that the Ministerial Meeting confirmed the new membership of the Russian Federation?

   A: No. At the Ministerial Meeting, several countries talked about the participation of Viet Nam and Peru from next year. There are several members, including Japan, who said that not only these two countries but also Russia should participate. What I told you at the outset is that Russia is endeavoring to attain a more constructive role in the Asia-Pacific region. With this in mind, Japan considers that the members discussed in concrete terms the potential new membership of Russia. However, we know that there has not been a full consensus on this issue, and that the Ministers have decided to ask the Leaders to look into this. So, we are not sure whether or not those three countries will be able to participate from next year on. We have to wait and see.

5. Bilateral discussions between Japan and China

   Q:Can you elaborate on the content of the bilateral discussions between Japan and China this afternoon?

   A: As I told you at the outset, the two ministers touched on the recent developments of the bilateral relations between the two countries. At first, Mr. Obuchi said that the recent visit of Mr. Li Peng to Japan was a big success. Prime Minister Hashimoto visited Beijing last September. Thus, this year, the mutual visits at the top level have been successfully conducted. And next year, President Jiang Zemin is expected to visit Japan. Japan sincerely hopes this visit will be a big success. At the same time, Mr. Obuchi said that Japan intends to invite 100 young Chinese people from various parts of China to visit Japan next year as we are doing this year. Foreign Minister Qian Qichen said that Prime Minister Hashimoto's visit to China and Mr. Li Peng's visit to Japan have been successfully conducted. Those visits play a very important role in promoting the relationship. Next year, both countries will celebrate the 20th anniversary of signing the Peace and Friendship Treaty between the two countries. He remembered that Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress visited China and that Jiang Zemin visited Japan in the past as Secretary General of the Party. Next year, he will visit as the Head of State, and this is the top level of exchange. By doing so, both ministers noted that the exchange of top level people between the two countries has been conducted satisfactorily and promoted good relations between the two countries. Both gentlemen exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula. Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen said that the recent visit of the three-party delegation to North Korea was successful. Foreign Minister Obuchi replied that this delegation visited North Korea in order to improve the atmosphere over the issue of normalization of relations between Japan and North Korea. Foreign Minister Obuchi asked about China's appreciation of the upcoming four-party conference and the present relations between China and North Korea. Foreign Minister Qian Qichen replied that there has been progress on the Four-party Talks, which will be held on 9 December in Geneva. And the China-North Korea relationship is a normal relationship, including the economic and trade relationship and the exchange of people. Foreign Minister Qian Qichen said that the meeting between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation was a success and Mr. Obuchi replied that yes, the meeting was very important. And after the Krasnoyarsk informal meeting between the two leaders, Minister of Foreign Affairs Evgenii Primakov of the Russian Federation visited Japan. And both countries will sincerely tackle the issue of signing the Peace Treaty. That is about all I can say on the content of the meeting. Thank you very much.