Japan and China will hold two days of talks beginning Wednesday in Beijing aimed at concluding an extradition treaty, resuming negotiations for the first time in five years, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The working-level talks will be the second round of discussions since they began in February 2010 in Tokyo. A treaty would make it possible in principle for either country to hand over criminal suspects when requested.

A growing number of suspects have been fleeing Japan to China, while Beijing meanwhile has been ratcheting up its campaign to nab corrupt senior officials who have fled overseas.

Japan's delegation will be led by Makita Shimokawa, deputy director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and includes officials from the National Police Agency and the Justice Ministry.

Beijing is expected to be represented by senior officials, including representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Treaty and Law, Japanese officials said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that Japan is looking for an "early conclusion" of the talks.

Japan currently has criminal extradition treaties with the United States and South Korea.