BEIJING (Kyodo) Japan and China have agreed to jointly draw up a new initiative to ensure food safety in response to a case of tainted Chinese-made frozen dumplings making people in Japan ill.

The agreement was reached Saturday in Beijing between Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese officials said.

Hatoyama proposed a "food safety promotion initiative" during the talks with Wen. The initiative would involve ministerial-level talks, a Foreign Ministry official said.