The two countries issued a joint statement promising to strengthen efforts to form a regional free-trade zone, promote energy efficiency and improve protection of intellectual property rights.

Their ministers discussed dates for an upcoming visit to China by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and a reciprocal trip to Japan by Chinese President Hu Jintao and agreed to more exchanges among militaries and defense officials.

They also agreed to participate in an anti-global-warming framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol, and to cooperate on measures to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and smuggling.

The discussions, modeled after similar dialogues that China holds with the United States and European Union, were aimed at strengthening ties between the two longtime rivals.

The two-day gathering brought together ministers of foreign affairs, trade, economics, finance, agriculture and environment in the most comprehensive dialogue since they resumed diplomatic ties in 1972.

Although the meetings marked a new willingness to move beyond divisive disputes that have chilled relations over the past decade, there were still no breakthroughs on Japan’s chief concern — China’s exploitation of a gas field that straddles a contested part of the East China Sea.

Only two concrete agreements were reached — one on a US$420 million Japanese loan to China to fund six environmental projects, and the other a treaty to allow each other’s police and prosecutors to work directly on criminal extradition.

But the talks marked a new beginning. The two countries will hold their second economic dialogue in Tokyo next year.

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