The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that the consultation with Japan on the East China Sea had "made remarkable progress".

"The two sides now are working out the final details," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu in a press release.

She said the governments of the two countries would make an announcement once an agreement had been reached.

China and Japan have carried out several rounds of talks on resolving the disputes in the East China Sea since 2004. The two countries reached a consensus to push for an early settlement of the issue while Chinese President Hu Jintao was on a state visit to Japan in May.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2008)