China can learn from Japan on how to deal with pollution and avoid dangers of a "bubble economy," a former senior official from Japan said yesterday.

 

"Japan witnessed severe environmental problems in the 1960s, when numerous factories were set up during the industrialization drive," said Masayoshi Takemura, former chief cabinet secretary, at the Second Sino-Japanese Industrial Economy Forum in Beijing.

 

Japan then established an environmental administration system to tackle pollution problems, he said.

 

In the 90s, prices of Japanese land and stocks plummeted, causing tremendous bad debts, he added. This was the beginning of the end for the Japanese economic bubble.

 

"Even if Japan stopped offering overseas direct aid to China, the two neighbors could collaborate with each other in areas ranging from personnel and assets to environment and energy conservation technologies," Takemura suggested.

 

China and Japan can play important roles in pushing forward the economic integration process in East Asia, said Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia.

 

"East Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world," said Long, adding: "Integrated industrial chains have taken shape in many sectors in the region, such as the auto and electronic industries."

 

Japan can play a leading role in the chain with its advantages in investment and technology, Long said. And China is famous for its abundance of high-quality and low-cost labor.

 

Furthermore, the economies of the two nations are highly complementary in many respects, he noted.

 

For example, about 100,000 Japanese are working in China in companies that also employ several million Chinese workers, Long noted.

 

Long also urged the two governments to build the foundation that will ensure the development of a more stable and transparent economic integration in the region.

 

Co-sponsored by CEC and Japan's Hitotsubashi University, the forum, inaugurated in 2004, is a platform for the exchange of ideas on enterprise development.

 

(China Daily September 21, 2006)