China will give financial support to medium-sized and small Japanese enterprises working jointly with Chinese firms, especially those that make parts and components for major products of transnational companies, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) Shi Guangsheng pledged on November 24.

In an address to the ninth joint session of Chinese and Japanese investment promotion institutions, Shi, who also serves as president of the Sino-Japanese Investment Promotion Council ( SJIPC), stressed that long-term economic cooperation between China and Japan has much potential because their resources and industrial structures and technological levels complement each other.

Japan has to date invested in 18,000 projects in China, with actual investment of 24.43 billion US dollars, topping the list of countries investing in China. But Japanese investment in China has slid since 1996, due to the Asian financial crisis.

Japanese investment in China has shown signs of recovery, with Japan's actual investment over the first three quarters this year rising by a surprising one fourth over the same period last year, much higher than other countries and regions.

Secretary-General of SJIPC Wang Shijia attributed this to the significant investment increase by a group of large-scale manufacturers like Toyota, and Japanese enterprises' keen interest in China's service trades like finance and insurance.

Shoichiro Toyoda, president of the Japanese-Chinese Investment Promotion Council, said that China's measures to attract foreign investment are very welcome among Japanese entrepreneurs. He also hoped that China will continue to improve its investment environment. (Xinhua)