Japan has urged China to normalise rare earth exports after shipments were blocked last month during a diplomatic spat, Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata said Sunday.
Ohata met with Chinese Commerce Minister Jiang Yaoping in Tokyo ahead of a forum on Japan-China cooperation in the fields of energy-efficiency and the environment.
Ohata told reporters that he urged Jiang to "make improvements so that exports of rare earths will be carried out smoothly," amid continued interruptions caused by strict inspections by Chinese customs officials.
Jiang told Ohata that China has strengthened shipping inspections to "counter smuggling" and reiterated China's claim that it has not imposed any ban on trade with Japan, the minister said.
Shipments of rare earth minerals to Japan were halted last month during a diplomatic row that began when Tokyo arrested a Chinese trawlerman in disputed waters.
Japan's stockpile of rare earth minerals, used in the manufacture of high-tech goods, could dry up by March or April without fresh imports from China, a senior Japanese government official warned Thursday.
China, which controls more than 95 percent of the global market, has not officially declared an export ban, but all 31 Japanese companies handling rare earth minerals have reported disruption to shipments.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to raise the issue if he meets with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of 16-nation Asian summit in Vietnam this week, media reports have said.
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