Japan will provide 85.9 billion yen (US$801.3 million) in
low-interest loans to China during the fiscal year starting April
1, 2005, a drop of 11 percent year-on-year, according to a document
signed by Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and Japanese Ambassador to
China Koreshige Anami on Tuesday.
The loans will be used in seven projects in central and western
China mainly concerning water treatment and environmental and
training projects.
The two officials declined to comment on the loan at the signing
ceremony at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.
The loans carry annual interest rates of 0.75 to 1.5 percent
with a maturity of 30 to 40 years and a grace period of a decade,
according to the document.
The 11 percent reduction follows cuts of about 24 percent in
Japanese yen loans to China since 2000, when the amount peaked at
214.4 billion yen (US$2.0 billion).
Japan's low-interest yen loan commitment to China since 1980
totals 3.1 trillion yen (US$28.0 billion) for projects including
construction of highways, airports, sewage systems and other
infrastructure.
The November 2004 edition of Japanese monthly magazine
Selection said that almost all economists agree that
expanding Sino-Japanese trade has also contributed significantly to
the recovery of the Japanese economy in recent years.
(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2005)