China and Japan are preparing for negotiation on technical issues concerning Chinese vegetable exports to Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation said Tuesday.

Ministry spokeswoman Gao Yan slashed some Japanese media reports which claimed that Chinese vegetables sold to Japan had serious safety problems.

"These reports are biased and not objective. They misled Japanese consumers and damaged the reputation of Chinese vegetables. It is unfavorable for the normal vegetable trade between the two countries."

China always attaches great importance to food quality and safety and has taken a series of measures to ensure that all products, including export commodities, meet quality and safety requirements, Gao said.

The technical measures on trade issues taken by some countries have far exceeded the limits needed to ensure product quality and safeguard consumers' health, she said.

As for the technical standards Japan has adopted, Gao said, there are some contents that are not scientific or rational enough, and this is the root of the so-called quality problem with Chinese vegetable exports to Japan.

China hopes Japan would clarify the biased reports and appropriately solve the issue so as to create a good environment for bilateral trade, Gao said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2002)