Japan is likely to stop its discrimination against Chinese dried lavers edible seaweeds and allow their imports soon after China launched its first investigation on trade barriers.

Wang Tingzhu, vice-chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Laver Association, which applied for the barrier investigation, said Japan has promised to treat Chinese lavers equally.

Wang, whose association represents 107 members, said there was now a timetable for solutions to the issue between the Chinese and Japanese governments and he believed a decision would be issued soon.

A senior Japanese agricultural ministry official has also indicated that the Japanese Government is expected to allow imports of dried laver from China.

Bilateral talks on China's request to Japan on the imports of dried Chinese laver are in the final process of co-ordination between government officials and industry representatives, Mamoru Ishihara, vice-minister for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said at a press conference.

Japan currently imports dried laver only from South Korea under an import quota system designed to protect domestic laver growers.

Japan is likely to amend the quota system in order to pave the way for imports from China, as China claims the Japanese import limit is a violation of World Trade Organization rules.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Thursday said it had decided to suspend its investigation into Japan's laver quota system, China's first investigation into foreign trade barriers.

An official said the ministry has held three rounds of consultation with the Japanese side on the issue.

The relevant Japanese departments have committed to take effective measures to resolve Chinese worries about the issue, he said.

In order to reach a solution by consultation, China decided to suspend the investigation, he said.

But if there is no satisfactory result, the investigation will be resumed, the official said.

The Ministry of Commerce started the first investigation on foreign trade barriers on April 22 after accepting request from local laver producers.

The investigation was filed on February 25 by the Jiangsu Provincial Laver Association which asked the ministry to investigate the legitimacy of the Japanese quota on laver imports.

Chinese dried lavers have been barred from being exported to Japan for years because Japan has only given import quotas to lavers from South Korea.

The trade of lavers, a major element in Japanese food, is under quota management in Japan, the largest consumer of lavers in the world.

The species, quality and methods of production of lavers from China and South Korea are similar, according to Wang, the association official.

Shen Sibao, a trade expert from the University of International Business and Economics, said investigations into trade barriers could help China improve its trade environment as its products are facing increasing barriers.

The investigation indicated that China is pursuing a more aggressive way in trade rather than passively dealing with foreign charges, Shen said.

The trend is also reflected in the newly revised Foreign Trade Law issued in April, which added a new chapter about investigations into unfair trade practices, Shen said.

Local industries may file more applications investigating the legitimacy of increasing trade barriers, Shen said.

"The first investigation has alerted other industries suffering from increasing trade barriers in recent years," Shen said.

Trade barriers often involve areas such as technical standards, quarantine and quality inspection measures, intellectual property rights, customs procedural requirements, environmental protection and labour standards.

The initiative of domestic companies is necessary to challenge trade barriers, he said.

(China Daily October 25, 2004)