(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-03 15:59

BEIJING - China says in a joint press communique with Japan that it hopes Japan could recognize its market economy status as early as possible.

Chen Deming [File photo]

The communique was issued by the two countries after their first high-level economic dialogue over the weekend.

Some 30 years after it launched market-oriented reforms, China has become the world's largest anti-dumping target - largely because it has been labeled a "non-market economy."

Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Deming has said in the dialogue that he hopes Japan could make wise political decision from the point of a sound bilateral trade relations and recognize China as a full market economy as early as possible, so as to inject new vitality to the development of bilateral trade relations.

Chen said that China is Japan's largest trading partner and exporting market with fastest growth, while Japan is China's third largest trading partner and second largest foreign investment source. The China-Japan trade volume in 2006 exceeded US$200 billion.

Till now, 76 countries, including New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Norway and 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have recognized China's market economy status.

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