SHANGHAI -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Jiang Zemin began talks Sunday evening to discuss bilateral issues, including Japan's future economic cooperation with China, as well as global efforts to tackle terrorism.
Koizumi, who also met Jiang in Beijing earlier this month, is expected to notify the Chinese leader that Japan will reduce its official development assistance to China, in response to Japan's severe fiscal situation, according to a Japanese official.
The Japanese government and ruling coalition parties on Friday approved an ODA plan for fiscal 2001 that would scale back aid to China and shift the focus to environmental conservation measures, meaning Tokyo would stop assistance for infrastructure development projects in China's coastal regions.